PRACTICAL  FORESTRY 


IN  THE 


PACIFIC  NORTHWEST 


m 


aS?^ 


m 


iilliiii 


WESTERN 

FORESTRY  AND  CONSERVATION 

ASSOCIATION 


~s 


WY* 


rr^f^~~ 


-^>-+*L^ 


PRACTICAL  FORESTRY 

IN  THE 

PACIFIC    NORTHWEST 


PROTECTING     EXISTING    FORESTS    AND    GROWING    NEW 

ONES,    FROM    THE    STANDPOINT    OF    THE    PUBLIC 

AND  THAT  OF  THE  LUMBERMAN,  WITH  AN 

OUTLINE  OF  TECHNICAL  METHODS. 


BY 

E.  T.   ALLEN 

Forester  for   the  Western   Forestry   &   Conservation  Association  (Formerly 
U.   S.  District  Forester  for  Oregon,   Washington  and   Alaska) 


ISSUED    BY 

THE 

WESTERN   FORESTRY  &   CONSERVATION   ASSOCIATION 

Office  of  the  Forester 

421  Yeon  Building,  Portland,  Oregon. 

191  1 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

NCSU  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/practicalforestrOOalle 


PREFACE 

WHAT  THIS  BOOK  IS  ABOUT  AND  WHY 

The  object  of  this  booklet  is  to  present  the  elementary 
principles  of  forest  conservation  as  they  apply  on  the  Pacific 
coast  from  Montana  to  California. 

There  is  a  keen  and  growing  interest  in  this  subject. 
Citizens  of  the  western  states  are  beginning  to  realize  that 
the  forest  is  a  community  resource  and  that  its  wasteful 
destruction  injures  their  welfare.  Lumbermen  are  coming 
to  regard  timber  land  not  as  a  mine  to  be  worked  out  and 
abandoned,  but  as  a  possible  source  of  perpetual  industry. 
They  find  little  available  information,  however,  as  to  how 
these  theories  can  be  reduced  to  actual  practice.  The  West- 
ern Forestry  and  Conservation  Association  believes  it  can 
render  no  more  practical  service  than  by  being  the  first  to 
outline  for  public  use  definite  workable  methods  of  forest 
management  applicable  to  western  conditions. 

A  publication  of  this  length  can  give  little  more  than  an 
outline,  but  attempt  has  been  made  either  to  answer  the 
most  obvious  questions  which  suggest  themselves  to  timber 
owners  interested  in  forest  preservation  or  to  guide  the  lat- 
ter in  finding  their  own  answers.  Only  the  most  reliable 
conservative  information  has  been  drawn  on,  much  of  it 
having  been  collected  by  the  Government. 

While  the  booklet  is  intended  to  be  of  use  chiefly  to  forest 
owners,  a  chapter  on  the  advantage  to  the  community  of 
a  proper  state  forest  policy  is  included,  also  a  chapter  on 
tree  growing  by  farmers.  The  first  presents  the  economic 
relation  of  forest  preservation  to  public  welfare,  with  its 
problems  of  fire  prevention,  taxation  and  reforestation;  for 

3 


4  PREFACE 

the  use  of  writers,  legislators,  voters,  or  others  desiring  to 
investigate  this  subject  of  growing  public  concern.  It  is 
based  upon  the  conclusions  of  the  best  unprejudiced  authori- 
ties who  have  approached  these  problems  from  the  public 
standpoint. 

In  the  technical  chapters  on  forest  management  and  its 
possibilities,  the  author  accepts  full  responsibility  for  con- 
clusions drawn  except  when  otherwise  noted.  To  the  Forest 
Service,  however,  is  entitled  the  credit  for  collecting  prac- 
tically all  the  growth  and  yield  figures  upon  which  these 
conclusions  are  based.  Especial  acknowledgement  is  due  to 
Mr.  J.  F.  Kiimmel  for  information  on  tree  planting. 

In  concluding  this  preface,  the  author  regrets  that  the 
booklet  which  it  introduces  was  necessarily  written  hur- 
riedly, a  page  or  two  at  a  time,  at  odd  hours  taken  from 
the  work  of  a  busy  office.  For  this  reason  its  style  and 
management  leaves  much  to  be  desired,  but  it  has  been 
thought  better  to  make  the  information  it  contains  imme- 
diately available  than  to  await  a  doubtful  opportunity  to 
rewrite  it. 


CONTENTS 

PEE FACE 
What   This  Book  Is  About,  and   Why 3 

INTRODUCTION 

What   We   Have   in   the  West.      What  We   Are   Doing   With   It. 

Does  It  Pay? 7 

CHAPTER  I.     FORESTRY  AND   THE  PUBLIC 

Importance  of  Forests  as  a  Community  Resource.  Wealth  Their 
Manufacture  Brings  to  All  Industries.  Value  as  Source  of 
Tax  Revenue.  Our  Inlerest  as  Consumers.  Real  Issue  Not 
Property  Protection  but  Conditions  of  Life  for  All.  Par- 
ticularly Favorable  Natural  Forest  Conditions  on  Pacific 
Coast.  Present  Policy  of  Waste.  Fire  Loss.  Idleness  of  Defor- 
ested Land.  Action  We  Must  Take.  Fire  Prevention. 
Reforestation.  Tax  Reform.  Public  Responsibility.  Essen- 
tials of  Needed  State  Policy.     Duty  of  the  Average  Citizen.       9 

CHAPTER  II.     FORESTRY  AND  THE  LUMBERMAN 

Economic  Principles  Governing  Forest  Production.  Supply  and 
Demand.  Lumberman  Must  Consider  Both  Profit  of  For- 
estry and  Popular  Demand  for  Its  Practice.  Consumer  Must 
Pay  for  Growing  Timber.  Attitude  of  State  Will  Become 
More  Encouraging.  How  All  This  Affects  the  Lumberman. 
Should  Plan  for  Meeting  the  Situation.  Circumstance?  that 
Determine  Profit.  Who  Can  Afford  to  Reforest  Cut-over 
Land  ? 25 

CHAPTER   III.      FORESTRY   AND    THE   FOREST 

Technical  and  Practical  Problems.  Elementary  Principles  of 
Forest  Growth.  Fundamental  Systems  of  Management. 
Nature  as  a  Model.  Logging  to  Insure  Another  Crop. 
Natural  and  Artificial  Reproduction.  Details  of  Manage- 
ment for  Each  Western  Species.  Seeding  and  Planting. 
Costs  and  Carrying  Charges.  Rate  of  Growth.  Probable 
Financial  Returns.     Hardwood  Experiments 37 


6  CONTENTS 

CHAPTEK    IV.      FORESTRY    AND    THE    FIRE    HAZARD 

The  Slashing  Menace.  Brush  Piling.  Slash  Burning.  Fire  Linos. 
Spark  Arrestors.  Patrol,  Associate  Effort.  Young  Growth 
as  a  Fire  Guard 91 

CHAPTER  V.     FORESTRY  AND  THE   FARMER 

Cutting  Methods  on  the  Wooded  Farm.  Best  Use  of  Poor  Forest 
Land.  The  Handling  of  Fire  in  Clearing.  Planting  on 
Treeless  Farms.  Species  .Must  Promising  for  Fuel  and 
Improvement  Material.  Windbreaks  to  Prevent  Evaporation 
of  Soil  Moisture.     Methods  and  <  lost  of  Tree  Growing 10-i 

APPENDIX 

Tax    Reforms    to    Permit    Reforestation.      Opinions    of    Expert 

Authorities '.  .    113 

The  Western  Forestry  and  Conservation  Association.  Its  Organi- 
zation and  Objects 129 


INTRODUCTION 

WHERE  WE  STAND  TODAY 
What  We  Have 

The  five  states  of  Montana.  Idaho.  Washington,  Oregon  and 
California  contain  half  the  merchantable  timber  in  the 
United  States  today — a  fact  of  startling  economic  signifi- 
cance. It  means  first  of  all  that  here  is  an  existing  resource 
of  incalculable  local  and  national  value.  It  means  also  that 
here  lies  the  mosi  promising  held  of  production  for  all  time. 
The  wonderful  density  and  extent  of  our  Western  forests 
are  not  accidental,  hut  result  because  climatic  and  other 
conditions  are  the  most  favorable  in  the  world  for  forest 
growth.  In  just  the  degree  that  they  excel  forests  else- 
where is  it  easier  to  make  them  continue  to  do  so. 

What  We  Are  Doixg  With  It 

On  the  other  hand,  forest  fires  in  Montana.  Idaho,  Wash- 
ington, Oregon  and  California  destroy  annually,  on  an 
average,  timber  which  if  used  instead  of  destroyed  would 
bring  forty  million  dollars  to  their  inhabitants.  Idleness  of 
burned  and  cut-over  bind  represents  a  direct  loss  almost  as 
great. 

These  are  actual  money  losses  to  the  community.  So  is 
the  failure  of  revenue  through  the  destruction  of  a  tax 
resource.  Equally  important,  and  hardly  less  direct,  is  the 
injury  to  agricultural  and  industrial  productiveness  which 
depends  upon  a  sustained  supply  of  wood  and  water. 

7 


8  INTRODUCTION 

Does  It  Tay? 

Practically  all  this  loss  is  unnecessary.  Other  countries 
have  stopped  the  forest  fire  evil.  Other  countries  have 
found  a  way  to  make  forest  land  continue  to  grow  forest. 
Consequently  we  can.  It  is  clearly  only  a  question  of 
whether  it  is  worth  while.  Let  us  consider  this  question, 
not  only  in  its  relation  to  posterity  or  to  the  lumberman, 
but  from  the  standpoint  of  the  average  citizen  of  the  West 
today. 


CHAPTER  I 

FORESTRY  AND  THE  PUBLIC 

Timber  Means  Pay  Checks 

Forest  wealth  is  community  wealth.  The  public's  interest 
in  it  is  affected  very  little  by  the  passage  of  timber  lands 
into  private  ownership,  for  all  the  owner  can  get  out  of 
them  is  the  stumpage  value.  The  people  get  everything 
else.  Our  forests  earn  nothing  except  by  being  cut  and 
sliipped  to  the  markets  of  the  world.  Of  the  price  received 
for  them  usually  much  less  than  a  fifth  is  received  by  the 
owner.  Nearly  all  goes  to  pay  for  labor  and  supplies  here 
at  home. 

Even  now,  when  the  western  lumber  industry  is  insignifi- 
cant compared  to  what  it  will  be  soon,  it  brings  over  $125,- 
000,000  a  year  into  these  five  states.  This  immense  revenue 
flows  through  every  artery  of  labor,  commerce  and  agricul- 
ture ;  in  the  open  farming  countries  as  well  as  in  the  timbered 
districts.  It  is  shared  alike  by  laborer,  farmer,  merchant, 
artisan  and  professional  man.  It  is  their  greatest  source  of 
income,  for  lumber  is  the  chief  product  which,  being  sold  else- 
where, actually  brings  in  outside  money. 

That  it  is  essential  to  the  prosperity  of  every  citizen  to  have 
this  contribution  to  his  livelihood  continue  requires  no  argu- 
ment. From  the  manufacturing  point  of  view  alone,  our 
forest  resources  are  as  important  to  everyone  of  us  as  to  the 
lumberman,  and  in  many  ways  more  so,  for  if  they  are  ex- 
hausted he  can  move  or  change  his  business,  while  the  de- 
pendent industries  cannot.  But  our  welfare  is  at  stake  in  a 
dozen  other  ways  also. 

9 


10  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

OUB    I  INTEREST    \s   CONSl  Ml  RS 

Every  person  who  uses  wood.,  whether  to  build,  fence,  burn, 
box  his  goods,  or  timber  his  mine,  is  directly  interested  in  a 
cheap  and  plentiful  supply  of  Umber.  Every  acre  burned, 
every  cut-over  acre  lying  idle,  raises  the  price  for  him  with- 
out furnishing  any  revenue  with  which  to  help  nun  it.  Every 
acre  saved  from  fire,  every  acre  of  young  growth,  lowers  it  for 
him  and  puts  money  in  circulation  besides. 

Similarly,  the  cost  to  the  consumer  of  most  articles  of  every 
day  necessity  is  directly  affected  by  the  connection  of  forest 
material  with  their  production.  Wood  and  water  are  almost 
as  essential  to  mining  as  ore,  hence  influence  the  price  of 
inetals\  In  the  form  of  fuel,  buildings,  or  boxes,  if  not  as  an 
actual  constituent  of  the  product  itself,  wood  supply  bears  a 
like  relation  to  almost  every  industry. 

Every  reduction  of  the  lumber  traffic  which  helps  support 
our  railroads,  or  of  their  supply  of  poles,  ties  and  car  ma- 
terial, tends  to  raise  the  cost  of  our  groceries  and  other  rail- 
transported  commodities. 

School  Lands 

Most  of  our  western  states  have  immense  areas  of  forested 
grani  lands,  the  sale  of  timber  from  which  supports  the  pub- 
lic schools  and  other  state  institutions.  Destruction  of  this 
assei  is  a  direct  blow  to  these  institutions  which  can  be  only 
partially  met  by  increased  taxation. 

Tin-:  Pakmeb  Has  tiii.  Most  at  Stake 

In  the  case  of  western  agriculture,  the  relation  to  the  Poresl 
is   fundamental  and   inseparable.     Enough   has  been  said  to 

show  that  because  of  ils  importance  as  a  sustaining  industry 
lumber  manufacture  is  a  prodigious  factor  in  creating  a  mar- 
ket for  farm  products,  also  that  the  cost  of  all  articles  used 
by  the  farmer  is  cheapened  by  forest  preservation.     But  hurl,- 


'THE    PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  11 

of  this  lies  the  all-important  dependence  of  western  agricul- 
ture upon  irrigation.  We  must  save  the  forests  that  store  the 
waters. 

Of  particular  significance  to  the  farmer,  too,  is  the  tre- 
mendous importance  of  forests  as  a  source  of  tax. revenue  to 
help  support  state  and  county  government.  The  cost  of  gov- 
ernment is  growing  as  our  population  grows.  Taxahle  prop- 
erty grows  mainly  in  the  cities.  Elsewhere  we  confront  the 
problem  of  diminishing  timber  to  tax  and  consequent  heavier 
and  heavier  burden  on  farm  property.  //  will  be  a  bad  situa- 
tion for  the  fanner  if  the  timber  is  all  destroyed  and  he  has 
to  pay  all  the  taxes,  as  well  as  a  higher  price  for  his  build- 
ings, fences  and  fruit  boxes.  Every  acre  of  timber  burned  or 
trusted  hastens  this  dag. 

The  conservation  thus  suggested  does  not  mean  non-use  of 
ripe  timber,  but  does  mean  protecting  it  from  useless  waste 
and  destruction,  and  replacing  it  by  reforestation  when  it  is 
used. 

Coxditioxs  of  Life  the  Eeal  Issue  Involved 

Lack  of  space  forbids  recounting  many  other  ways  in  which 
the  forest  question  touches  the  average  citizen.  It  enters  into 
our  prospects  of  development,  our  investment  values  and  our 
insurance  rates.  Like  the  keystone  of  an  arch,  or  the  link 
of  a  chain,  forests  cannot  be  destroyed  without  the  collapse  of 
the  entire  fabric.  Their  preservation  is  not  primarily  a  prop- 
ertv  question,  but  a  principle  of  public  economy,  dealing  with 
one  of  the  elements  of  human  existence  and  progress.  Failure 
to  treat  it  as  such  means  harder  conditions  of  life,  a  handicap 
of  industry ;  not  only  for  our  children,  but  for  us  as  well. 

It  all  sums  up  to  this:  On  every  acre  of  western  forest  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  or  that  fails  to  grow  where  it  might  grow,  we, 
the  citizens  Of  the  West  who  are  not  lumbermen,  hear  fully 
eighty  per  cent  of  the  direct  loss  and  sustain  serious  further 
injury  to  our  general  safety  and  profit. 


12  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

How  We  Throw  Away  Millions 

Notwithstanding  the  above  facts,  we  allow  $±0,000,000 
which  we  and  our  families  should  share  to  vanish  every  year, 
having  nothing  more  enduring  than  a  pall  of  smoke  from 
Canada  to  the  Mexican  line.  The  great  area  thus  denuded 
uselessly,  with  that  which  produced  public  wealth  through 
lumber  manufacture,  together  having  been  capable  of  afford- 
ing a  community  resource  of  $165,000,000,  are  abandoned  to 
lie  idle  and  a  menace  to  remaining  timber.  It  is  exactly  as 
though  the  owner  of  a  165-acre  orchard  should  destroy  forty 
acres  wantonly  and  also  abandon  the  rest,  unfenced,  uncul- 
tivated and  uncared  for. 

The  one  waste  is  as  unnecessary  as  the  other.  Our  Pacific 
coast  forests  owe  their  unparalleled  productiveness  to  a  pecu- 
liarly fortunate  combination  of  climate  and  rapid  growing 
species  unknown  elsewhere.  Nowhere  else  is  forest  reproduc- 
tion so  swift  and  certain.  Nowhere  can  it  be  secured  wTith  so 
little  effort  and  expense.  A  little  forethought  in  cutting 
methods  and  protection  of  the  cut-over  area  from  recurring 
fires,  and  an  early  second  crop  is  assured.  Saw  timber  can  be 
grown  in  forty  to  seventy-five  years;  ties,  mine  timber  and 
piles  in  less. 

How  We  Might  Make  Immense  Profit  Instead. 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  iliai.  although  the  quality  may 
be  inferior  to  that  of  the  old  fores!  removed  now,  timber 
scarcity  will  make  a  second  cut  in  sixty  years  equally  profita- 
ble per  acre.  Therefore,  if  the  area  denuded  annually  at 
present  were  encouraged  to  reforest  and  protected,  it  should 
at  the  end  of  that  period  again  yield  $165,000,000  to  the  com- 
munity. Each  year's  growtli  at  present  would  be  worth  a  six- 
lielh  of  that  sum,  or  $2,750,000.  If  given  any  chance  to  do 
so,  the  area  deforested  in  mil//  ten  years  would  actually  earn 
the  people  of  our  fire  western  forest  shifts  s27,500,000  a 
year. 


THE   PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  13 

Almost  nothing  is  being  done  to  make  it  do  so.  As  the  re- 
sult of  the  same  popular  neglect,  this  annual  loss  of  nearly 
twenty-eight  millions  of  dollars  is  added  to  that  of  forty 
millions  caused  by  destruction  of  merchantable  timber  by  fire, 
and  the  injury  to  tax  revenue,  water  supply  and  countless  de- 
pendent industries  still  remain  to  be  reckoned.  And  to  this 
sacrifice  of  wealth  we  add  that  of  scores  of  human  lives,  in- 
credible suffering,  and  the  wiping  out  of  homes  and  villages 
by  forest  fires. 

Plain  Words  For  Our  Present  Policy 

Let  us  draw  a  parallel :  If  riot  or  invasion  should  sweep 
our  Pacific  coast  states,  killing  unprotected  settlers,  plunder- 
ing banks  and  treasuries  of  $40,000,000  of  the  people's  sav- 
ings and  business  capital,  and  by  destroying  the  producing 
power  of  commercial  enterprise  reduce  the  community's  in- 
come by  twenty-eight  millions  more,  the  catastrophe  would 
startle  the  world. 

If  this  stupendous  disaster  should  threaten  to  recur  the 
following  year  and  every  year  thereafter  indefinitely,  annually 
taking  $67,000,000  from  the  earnings  of  the  people,  diminish- 
ing their  invested  wealth  and  paralyzing  their  industries,  the 
situation  would  be  unbearable.  It  would  dominate  the  minds 
of  men,  women  and  children.  All  else  would  be  forgotten  in 
their  preparation  for  defense. 

Forest  fire  destruction  is  a  danger  in  every  way  as  real  and 
immediate  as  riot  or  invasion,  equally  measurable  in  losses 
to  us  today  and  more  far  reaching  in  effect  upon  future  pros- 
perity. Although  less  sensational,  it  demands  no  less  prompt 
action. 

The  Action  We  Must  Take 

The  foregoing  facts  prove  that  our  present  forest  policy 
is  unprofitable  to  the  state  and  its  citizens.  What,  then,  is 
the  remedy? 

At  first  thought  it  may  seem  that  the  responsibility  for  this 


14  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

lies  with  the  man  who  controls  i lie  land,  the  timber  owner 
and  lumberman.  He  does  have  his  part  to  pla}r,  which  is  dis- 
cussed elsewhere  in  this  booklet.  But  lie  will  not,  indeed  can- 
not, do  so  until  the  rest  of  us  play  ours.  The  community 
must  not  only  cooperate,  hut  in  some  directions  must  act  first, 
because  from  the  beginning  the  lumberman  is  governed  by 
many  conditions  which  are  fixed  by  the  people.  It  is  for  the 
people  to  make  these  conditions  reasonably  favorable  so  that 
he  will  have  neither  excuse  nor  incentive  for  failing  to  con- 
form to  them. 

In  this  cooperation  the  people  should  not  be  expected  to 
grant  privileges  which  are  not  for  their  own  advantage  also. 
Nor  should  they  hesitate  to  cooperate  if  it  is  to  their  ad- 
vantage, merely  because  it  is  also  a  help  to  the  lumberman. 
It  is  natural  that  the  public  should  disincline  to  assume  any 
further  burden  to  enrich  the  timber  owner.  "Were  this  the 
sole  object  of  forest  protection  it  would  be  fair  to  leave  it 
to  him.  But  it  is  the  height  of  bad  economy  to  obstruct  or 
refuse  to  help  him  in  handling  forest  resources  to  our  best 
advantage.  Whether  be  gains  or  loses  is  merely  incidental  to 
us.  hut  whether  we  gain  or  lose  is  of  very  great  importance. 

First  Step  Is  to  Stop  Forest  Fires 

Obviously  reduction  of  the  forest  fire  hazard  is  the  most 
urgent  problem.  Not  only  is  lire  the  greatest  destroyer  of 
existing  forests,  but  it  also  discourages  investment  in  re- 
forestation. The  public  has  a  right  to  expect  the  lumberman 
to  adopt  every  safeguard  against  it  in  his  operations.  Never- 
theless, )  he  lirst  step  to  encourage  him  in  this  is  to  reduce  the 
appalling  carelessness  with  fire  in  which  the  people  of  the 
West  are  the  worsl  offenders  in  the  world  today. 

Forest  fires  are  almost  always  unnecessary.  They  usually 
result  from  a  negleci  of  consideration  for  injury  and  distress 
to  others  which  is  not  shown  by  the  American  people  in  any 
other  connection.  The  travelei  or  resident  in  forest  regions 
simply  fails  to  realize  that  his  own  welfare  and  that  of  count- 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  15 

less  others  requires  the  same  precaution  not  to  let  fire  escape, 
and  the  same  activity  in  extinguishing  fires  he  discovers, 
that  are  accorded  as  a  matter  of  course  in  cities  and  towns. 
In  reality  they  are  more  important.  A  San  Francisco  can 
burn  down  and  it  is  soon  replaced.  Insurance  and  capital 
come  to  the  rescue,  labor  is  employed,  and  business  is  re- 
sumed. But  when  the  forest  burns,  industry  dies  and  labor 
is  driven  away  empty  handed.  It  is  a  big  price  to  pay  for 
neglecting  the  slight  effort  required  to  prevent  it. 

Fairly  good  fire  laws  are  on  our  statute  books.  Presumably 
they  were  intended  to  prevent  fires.  Yet  almost  every  forest 
community  sees  fire  after  fire  set  through  ignorance,  careless- 
ness or  purpose,  and  so  far  from  punishing  the  offenders  ac- 
cords them  every  privilege  of  business  and  society.  In  cities, 
however  insignificant  the  damage,  arson  leads  to  the  peni- 
tentiary. A  forest  fire  may  destroy  millions  and  the  cause 
not  even  be  investigated.  If,  aggravated  by  a  particularly 
inexcusable  case  of  malice  or  carelessness,  some  property 
holder  (seldom  the  people)  secures  an  arrest,  acquittal  is 
practically  certain  because  the  community  considers  the  mat- 
ter none  of  its  business.  Then  the  value  of  the  fire  law  is  at 
an  end  in  that  region.  Certainly  we  cannot  expect  the  timber 
owner  to  protect  our  forest  interests  until  we  ourselves  respect 
and  at  least  attempt  to  enforce  our  forest  laws. 

Patrol  Service  Absolutely  Essential 

But  necessary  as  is  better  public  sentiment,  we  must  also 
have  practical  machinery  for  enforcing  the  laws  and  for 
stopping  the  fires  that  do  start.  Just  as  a  city  is  safeguarded 
best  by  an  organized  fire  department,  so  the  forest  can  be 
protected  effectively  only  by  trained  men  who  know  the  work. 
And  the  man  who  prevents  the  most  fires  is  the  man  who  is 
looking  for  them,  not  the  man  who  goes  after  the  fire  is  under 
way. 

Theodore  Eoosevelt  says:  "I  hold  as  first  among  the  tasks 
before  the  states  and  the  nation  in  their  respective  shares  in 


16  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

forest  conservation  the  organization  of  efficient  fire  patrols 
and  the  enactment  of  good  fire  laws  on  the  part  of  the  states." 

The  National  Conservation  Commission  reports:  "Each 
state  within  whose  boundaries  forest  fires  are  working  grave 
injury,  and  that  means  every  forest  state,  must  face  the  fact 
squarely  that  to  keep  down  forest  fires  needs  not  merely  a  law 
upon  the  statute  books,  but  an  effective  force  of  men  actually 
on  the  ground  to  patrol  against  fire." 

We  all  know  that  few  disastrous  fires  start  under  conditions 
which  prevent  their  control.  Usually  they  spring  from  some 
of  the  many  small,  apparently  innocent  fires  which  burn  un- 
noticed until  wind  and  hot  weather  fan  them  into  action.  It 
is  far  cheaper  to  put  them  out  in  the  incipient  stage  than  to 
fight  them  later,  perhaps  unsuccessfully  until  after  great  dam- 
age has  been  done.  And  if  fighting  is  necessary,  it  is  of  the 
highest  importance  to  have  it  led  by  competent,  experienced 
men.    Moments  count,  and  bad  judgment  is  expensive. 

Most  western  states  already  have  laws  regulating  the  use  of 
fire  for  clearing  during  the  dry  season.  To  accomplish  this 
with  safety  and  without  hardship  requires  fire  wardens  to 
issue  permits  and  help  with  the  burning  if  necessary. 

Public  knowledge  that  there  is  someone  to  enforce  the  law 
tends  to  restrain  the  dangerous  class.  Still  more  useful  is  the 
service  of  fire  wardens  in  agitating  the  fire  question  and  keep- 
ing before  forest  residents  the  advantage  of  their  cooperation. 

Co-operation  With  Private  Owners  Desirable 

In  fire  patrol,  especially,  the  state  and  the  lumberman  must 
work  together.  It  is  reasonable  that  the  timber  owner  should 
contribute  to  the  protection  of  his  property.  He  also  has 
peculiar  facilities  for  getting  the  work  done  well  and  cheaply. 
As  a  rule  he  is  willing  to  do  his  part.  In  1910  the  Washing- 
ton Forest  Fire  Association  and  other  timber  owners  in  that 
state  paid  out  $300,000  for  patrol  and  other  fire  work.  The 
Coeur  d'Alene,  Clearwater,  Potlatch  and  Pend  d'Oreille  Tim- 
ber Protective  associations  spent  over  $200,000    in    Idaho. 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  17 

Oregon  timbermen  spent  approximately  $130,000.  Figures 
are  not  available  &>r  Montana  and  California,  but  probably 
the  same  proportion  holds.  be  &  T\v  ^ 

Thorough  support  by  the  jtate  is  necessary  to  make  priv  -te 
work  effective.  The  men  empkyedmust  have  official  authority 
to  enforce  the  law.  The  dangerous  element  does  not  respect 
a  movement  which  nominally  represents  only  the  property 
owner.  The  people  in  general  do  not  aid  it  as  much  as  they 
do  one  in  which  they  also  share.  Therefore,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  state  facilities  for  cooperating  in  the  organization, 
authorization  and  supervision  of  all  forest  patrols. 

'     :     !     ,    i 
> 

Liberal  Appropriation  a   Good  Investment 

But  to  stop  here  is  like  attempting  to  protect  a  city  from 
fire  merely  by  giving  its  factory  owners  the  right  to  main- 
tain watchmen.  We  want  to  provide  for  the  greatest  possible 
advantage  to  the  people  through  the  timber  owner's  desire  to 
protect  his  own  property,  but  any  forest  policy  which  ends 
with  this  is  hopelessly  weak.  We  cannot  afford  to  leave  any 
matter  of  public  welfare  wholly  to  the  wisdom  and  philan- 
thropy of  private  enterprise.  If  we  expect  our  paramount 
interest  in  forest  and  water  resources  to  be  looked  out  for 
properly,  we  must  pay  for  it  just  as  we  do  for  all  other  pro- 
tection we  get  through  organized  government.  Nor  should 
we  forget  that  the  timber  owner  helps  us  again  in  this,  for  he 
pays  taxes  as  well  as  the  cost  of  his  private  patrol. 

There  are  also  many  regions  where  timber  values  do  not 
warrant  patrol,  but  where  the  safety  of  other  property,  and  of 
life,  demand  both  patrol  and  fire  fighting.  Here  the  state 
owes  its  citizens  protection.  Moreover,  one  of  the  weakest 
points  in  our  present  "system  everywhere  is  lack  of  police 
authority  to  apprehend  violators  of  the  fire  laws.  The  pri- 
vate warden  cannot  successfully  arrest  or  prosecute  offenders, 
and  everybody  knows  it.  Most  fires  start  through  violation  of 
law.     To  prevent  them  the  law  must  be  respected,  and  to  ac- 


18  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY  IN 

complish  this  there  must  be  state  officers  who  can  and  will 
apprehend  offenders  without  fear  or  favor. 

/'  estern  state  can  veil  afford  to  s^end  $100,000  a  year 

fp  .  orest  fire  service  which  will  prevent  a  loss  of  fifty  times 
that  sum.  The  cost  is  imperceptible  by  the  citizen,  his  benefit 
immediate.  Forest  protection  is  the  cheapest  form  of  pros- 
perity  insurance  a  timbered  state  can  buy. 

Reforestation 

Although  it  does  not  pay  to  burn  up  our  forests,  it  does  pay 
to  use  them.  The  faster  we  can  replace  them  with  new  ones, 
the  quicker  tliis  profit  can  be  made  with  safety.  Forest  la;vl 
is  community  capital.  To  let  it  lie  idle  is  as  wasteful  as  de- 
struction. And  we  must  also  remember  that  the  day  is  com- 
ing when  our  forested  streams  must  do  a  hundred  times  their 
present  duty,  and  when  the  lumber  consumer's  question  may 
not  be  "What  must  I  pay  for  a  board?"  but  "Can  I  get  a 
board  at  all?"  We  must  have  new  forests  coming  as  the  old 
ones  go. 

The  Federal  Government  is  practicing  forestry  in  the  lands 
controlled  by  the  Forest  Service.  Why  should  the  states  not 
do  the  same  thing  with  their  school  and  tax  deed  lands?  In- 
telligent care  of  timbered  school  land,  selling  the  timber  only 
under  regulations  which  mil  insure  reforestation,  would 
realize  as  much  today  and  in  the  long  run  pay  a  thousand  per 
cent  in  dividends  for  the  education  of  our  children  and  our 
children's  children. 

Further  than  this,  there  should  be  legislation  to  permit  the 
state  to  solidify  its  forest  lands  by  exchange,  when  advisable, 
and  to  authorize  the  purchase  of  cut-over  lands.  The  eventual 
profit  in  this  is  certain  to  be  great,  and  nothing  will  do  more 
In  interest  the  public  and  private  owners  in  reforestation.  It 
is  the  history  of  all  countries  that  forests  are  peculiarly 
profitable  state  property,  especially  when,  as  is  the  case  with 
us,  it  can  be  acquired  cheaply.  It  is  a  sound  and  well-proved 
policy  that  it  is  well  for  the  state  to  own  lands  which  are 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  19 

not  adapted  for  permanent  individual  development.  Forest 
lands  constitute  the  ideal  class,  not  only  because  the  state  is 
in  die  best  position  to  keep  up  their  usefulness  to  the  com- 
munity, but  also  because  they  will  earn  perpetual  revenue  far 
greater  than  they  could  bring  through  taxation.  They  will 
pay  back  the  cost  and  interest,  become  increasingly  valuable, 
and  still  pay  dividends. 

It  is  even  more  important  that  reforestation  be  secured  on 
private  lands,  because  their  area  is  greater  than  that  owned 
by  state  and  government.  With  the  encouragement  which 
could  be  given  the  owner  without  any  undeserved  concession, 
conditions  would  warrant  him  in  securing  it.  We  have 
reached  that  stage  in  our  development.  The  exhaustion  of 
timber  in  the  country  at  large,  the  increase  of  consumption, 
and  our  peculiar  natural  advantages,  have  combined  to  prom- 
ise adequate  financial  return.  And  the  lumberman  does  not 
want  to  go  out  of  business  unless  he  has  to. 

Obstacles  to  Private  Effort 

To  insure  a  second  crop  the  lumberman  has  to  lose  more 
or  less  money  when  he  cuts  the  first.  His  methods  must  be 
more  expensive  and  he  must,  forego  present  profits  on  trees  he 
leaves.  If  he  plants,  the  outlay  is  considerable.  But  let  us 
suppose  he  is  willing  to  do  all  this,  not  because  he  is  a  philan- 
thropist but  because  he  wants  more  trees  to  run  his  mill  some 
day. 

It  is  a  comparatively  simple  matter  to  get  his  second  crop 
started.  American  forestry  has  solved  this  problem  fairly 
well.  It  is  also  easy  to  calculate  in  most  cases,  beginning 
with  the  sale  value  of  cut-over  land,  using  safe  estimate  of 
the  next  yield  and  the  time  required  to  mature  it,  and  setting 
a  conservative  future  stum  page  value,  that  growing  timber 
ought  to  be  a  profitable  investment.  If  that  were  all,  we 
could  leave  the  lumberman  alone  and  count  on  him  to  per- 
petuate our  forests  because  it  will  pay  him  to  do  so. 

But  the  whole  calculation,  consequently  the  public's  inter- 


20  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

est  as  well  as  his,  is  upset  by  two  factors — the  danger  that 
his  investment  will  burn  up  and  the  p/actical  certainty  that 
taies  will  eat  up  all  pro:it  before  the  harvest.  If  he  figures 
on  fire  protection  at  his  own  expense  against  the  hazard  as  it 
now  exists,  and  the  tax  burden  on  cut-over  land  which  is 
indicated  at  present,  his  engagement  in  forest  growing  will 
be  negligible  from  the  point  of  view  of  public  welfare.  In 
some  cases  he  may  hold  the  land  awhile,  in  few  can  he  afford 
to  protect  it,  in  still  fewer  is  he  justified  in  actually  doing 
anything  to  insure  reforestation. 

If  a  man  proposes  to  build  a  factory  or  railroad  in  a  com- 
munity the  inhabitants  usually  encourage  him.  They  do  not 
refuse  him  fire  protection  in  the  first  place  and  then,  if  his 
plant  burns  down,  threaten  to  burn  it  again  and  keep  up  full 
taxation  on  the  vacant  land.  They  offer  every  fair  induce- 
ment to  get  the  industry  and  keep  it  flourishing.  They  expect 
it  to  pay  its  just  share  of  taxation,  but  want  it^to  continue 
to  do  so  as  long  as  possible. 

Tax  New  Crop  When  Harvested 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  first  obstacle  to  reforestation  of 
private  land  can  be  removed  only  by  supporting  a  fire  patrol 
and  creating  public  sentiment  which  will  reduce  the  number 
of  fires.  The  second  is  even  more  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the 
people,  for  by  the  system  of  taxation  they  impose  they  decide 
whether  it  shall  continue  an  earning  power  and  a  tax  sourer 
forever  or  he  abandoned  to  become  a  desert;  non-producing, 
non-taxable,  and  a  menace  to  stream-flow.  Whether  its  owner 
has  made  money  on  the  original  crop  has  no  bearing  on  the  re- 
sult, nor  has  his  being  rich  or  poor,  resident  or  alien.  Cut- 
over  land  presents  a  distincl  problem  to  him.  lie  will  and 
should  pay  a  full  tax  on  its  earning  power,  which  will  be 
demonstrated  when  he  successfully  brings  another  crop  to 
maturity.  But  he  cannot  carry  an  investment  for  fifty  years 
or  more  without  return,  with  a  risk  of  total  loss  by  fire  up  to 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  21 

the  last  moment,  at  a  cost  which  would  bring  him  better  profit 
in  some  other  business 

These  facts  are  recognized  by  all  students  of  forestry.  The 
following  authorities  hold  no  brief  for  the  lumberman.  They 
approached  the  subject  solely  from  the  side  of  the  people : 

Theodore  Roosevelt :  "Second  only  to  good  fire  laws  is  the 
enactment  of  tax  laws  which  will  permit  the  perpetuation  of 
existing  forests  by  use." 

National  Conservation  Commission :  "Present  tax  laws 
prevent  reforestation  of  cut-over  land  and  the  perpetuation 
of  existing  forests  by  use.  An  annual  tax  upon  the  land  it- 
self, exclusive  of  the  timber,  and  a  tax  upon  the  timber  when 
eut  is  well  adapted  to  actual  conditions  of  forest  investment 
and  is  practicable  and  certain.  It  would  insure  a  permanent 
revenue  from  the  forest  in  the  aggregate  far  greater  than  is 
now  collected,  and  yet  be  less  burdensome  upon  the  state  and 
upon  the  owner.  It  is  better  from  every  side  that  forest  land 
should  yield  a  moderate  tax  permanently  than  that  it  should 
yield  an  excessive  revenue  temporarily,  and  then  cease  to 
yield  at  all." 

H.  S.  Graves,  Chief  Forester  for  the  U.  S. :  "Private  owners 
do  not  practice  forestry  for  one  or  more  of  three  reasons:  1. 
The  risk  of  fire.  2.  Burdensome  taxation.  3.  Low  prices  of 
products." 

Professor  Fairchild,  tax  expert,  Yale  University :  "Forestry 
must  come  some  time,  and  its  early  coining  is  a  thing  greatly 
to  be  desired.  We  can  hardly  hope  to  see  the  general  prac- 
tice of  forestry  as  long  as  the  present  methods  of  taxation  con- 
tinue. With  regard  to  its  effect  on  revenue,  there  is  little  to 
be  feared  from  the  tax  on  yield.  It  is  equitable  and  certain. 
If  a  tax  at  once  equitable  and  dependable  is  guaranteed.  Hie 
business  of  forestry  will  not  need  to  ash  special  favors." 


22  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY  IN 

Ckying  Need  For  Definite  State  Policy 

• 

To  accomplish  these  reforms  will  take  law-making  and  law- 
enforcing.  However  wrell  we  study  existing  conditions  and 
legislate  upon  the  premises  they  furnish,  success  depends 
upon  competent  application  of  the  laws  and  their  improve- 
ment as  conditions  change.  It  is  a  bitter  reproof  to  us  of  the 
West  that  Eastern  states,  with  forest  and  water  resources  in- 
significant compared  to  ours,  have  gone  so  much  farther  in 
securing  the  services  of  trained  men  to  study  these  questions 
and  to  guard  both  private  and  public  interests.  The  very 
first  step  should  be  to  get  competent  trained  state  foresters 
who  will  devise  wise  measures,  protect  us  from  unwise  ones, 
and  educate  lumbermen  and  public  alike  to  the  common  need 
of  action.  We  pay  cheerfully  for  every  other  kind  of  public 
service,  for  geologists,  veterinarians,  insurance  commission- 
ers, barber  examiners,  and  what  not.  But  the  two  things  we 
must  have — wood  and  water — we  leave  pretty  much  to  take 
care  of  themselves,  and  they  aren't  doing  it  and  never  will. 

The  essentials  of  a  wise  state  forest  'policy,  based  not  on 
theory  but  on  successful  experience  elsewhere,  are  as  cheap 
as  they  are  simple.  Where  tried  they  have  never  been  aban- 
doned. If  they  pay  elsewhere,  can  we  afford  not  to  try? 
Following  is  the  framework  of  a  code  demanded  by  the  situa- 
tion in  every  Western  state.  Some  already  approach  it,  but 
none  goes  far  enough  : 

Essentials  of  Effective  State  Forest  Code 

1.  A  State  Board  of  Forestry  selected  with  the  single  view 
of  insuring  the  most  competent  expert  judgment  on  the  mat- 
ters with  which  it  deals.  In  other  words,  the  board  should 
not  be  political,  but  appointment  by  the  Governor  should  be 
restricted  to  responsible  representatives  nominated  by  the  in- 
terests most  familiar  with  forest  management,  such  as  state 
forest  schools,  lumbermen's  associations,  forest  fire  associa- 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  23 

tions,  conservation  associations    and    the    resident    Federal 
forest  service. 

2.  A  trained  state  forester,  wholly  independent  of  politics. 
Executive  ability  and  practical  forest  knowledge  should  be 
considered  essential,  also  scientific  training.  He  should  have 
one  or  more  assistants  of  nis  own  appointing. 

3.  A  liberally  supported  forest  fire  service,  in  which  the 
state  forester  has  ample  latitude  in  cooperation,  financial 
and  otherwise,  with  all  other  agencies  in  the  same  work. 

4.  A  systematic  study  of  forest  conditions  to  afford  basis 
of  both  intelligent  administration  and  desirable  further  legis- 
lation. 

5.  A  system  for  active  general  popular  education,  with 
specific  advice  to  individuals  in  proper  forest  management. 

6.  Application  of  forestry  principles  to  the  management 
of  state-owned  forest  lands  and  the  purchase  of  cut  or  burned 
over  land  better  suited  for  state  than  for  private  forestry. 
This  is  to  furnish  educative  examples  of  conservative  man- 
agement as  well  as  to  maintain  state  revenue  and  proper 
forest  conditions. 

7.  Improvement  and  strict  enforcement  of  laws  against 
fire  and  trespass,  with  penalty  for  neglect  to  enforce  them  by 
any  officer  who  is  paid  to  do  so. 

8.  Encouragement  of  reforestation  by  assessing  deforested 
land  annually  on  land  value  only,  deferring  taxation  of  forest 
growth  until  its  cutting  furnishes  income  with  which  to  meet 
the  tax. 

9.  Thorough  study  of  the  subject  of  taxing  standing  tim- 
ber, to  the  end  of  securing  a  system  which,  by  insuring  a 
fair  revenue  without  enforcing  bad  forest  management,  will 
result  in  the  greatest  community  good. 

Do  It  Now 

You,  the  average  citizen  of  the  West,  are  responsible  for  the 
present  situation  and  for  its  remedy.  Merely  to  agree  that  it 
is  unfortunate,  and  virtuously  to  condemn  firebugs,  careless 


24  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

lumbermen  and  indifferent  legislators,  does  not  relieve  you  of 
the  responsibility.  Neither  will  it  protect  you  from  the  con- 
sequences. On  the  other  hand,  the  firebug  will  not  fire  if  he 
knows  it  will  not  be  tolerated.  The  lumberman  will  adopt 
protective  methods  if  you  encourage  him.  The  legislator  is 
glad  to  help  in  any  way  his  constituents  suggest.  They  are  all 
only  waiting  for  a  word  from  you,  whose  welfare  is  really  ai 
stake  and  from  whom  the  word  should  come. 

If  any  other  principle  of  public  safety — say  suppression  of 
fraud,  burglary  or  murder — was  being  so  generally  ignored, 
what  would  you  do  ?  Would  you  not  look  up  the  laws  of  the 
state  and  find  a  way  of  letting  everyone  connected  with  their 
enforcement  know  that  you  expected  them  to  be  enforced  ?  If 
you  found  laws  or  appropriations  inadequate,  would  you  not 
see  to  it  that  every  representative  in  the  legislature  knew  his 
constituents  demanded  improvement? 

The  legislator  or  public  official  is  anxious  to  comply  with 
the  people's  wishes,  but  he  must  know  what  the  people  want. 
It  is  essential  to  let  him  know  that  you  want  a  progressive  and 
liberally  supported  state  policy  that  will  save  our  immense 
forest  wealth  from  needless  destruction. 


THE    PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  25 


CHAPTER  IT 

FORESTRY  AND  THE  LUMBERMAN 
The  Underlying  Principles 

The  lumber  industry  is  undergoing  a  process  of  reorganiza- 
tion which  reaches  to  its  very  foundations.  It  is  so  deep- 
seated  as  to  be  almost  imperceptible  from  outward  evidence, 
but  is  of  profound  significance  to  the  owner  of  timber  land 
and  to  the  public. 

Hitherto  lumbering  in  the  United  States  has  consisted 
chiefly  of  manufacturing  and  selling.  The  raw  material  has 
occupied  no  consistent  place  in  the  equation.  The  value  it 
has  had  in  fixing  the  price  of  the  finished  product  has  been 
merely  in  its  relation  to  transportation.  Intrinsically  it  has 
been  accorded  no  value.  This  situation  continued  just  as  long 
as  there  was  practically  free  Government  timber  to  be  had  by 
opening  it  up. 

It  continues  now  only  relatively,  however.  Transportation 
must  always  remain  a  great  factor;  the  timber  owner  is  still 
obliged  temporarily  to  meet  his  obligations  by  means  de- 
termined under  the  old  basis.  Nevertheless,  the  moment  it 
became  impossible  to  get  timber  to  manufacture  without  as- 
suming the  costs  of  producing,  such  as  fire  protection,  taxa- 
tion and  interest,  began  an  era  of  inevitable  natural  regula- 
tion. From  that  time  on  timber  began  to  assume  a  value 
which,  although  affected  by  transportation  facilities,  must 
eventually  be  fixed  chiefly  by  the  cost  of  growing  other  timber 
to  compete  with  it. 


26  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

Timber  Is  Worth  the  Cost  of  Growing  It 

In  other  words,  the  value  of  anything  is  what  it  costs  to 
produce  it,  whether  it  is  a  tree  or  a  box  of  apples.  That  we 
found  our  timber  orchard  tjrowino-  when  we  came  to  this  coun- 
try  does  not  change  this  law.  It  was  suspended  temporarily 
while  any  individual  could  profit  by  the  growth  produced 
without  cost,  but  began  to  operate  again  when  be  could  no 
longer  do  so.  We  are  now  in  a  transition  period  of  adjust- 
ment. The  important  thing  to  remember  is  that  this  will 
not  continue  until  the  entire  output  has  actually  borne  the 
full  cost  of  production,  for  before  then  investments  in  stand- 
ing timber  will  have  been  regulated  by  the  same  influence. 

It  is  true  that  at  present  the  cost  of  lumber  to  the  consumer 
is  not  fixed  absolutely  even  by  the  cost  of  manufacturing  and 
selling  it,  and  that  on  the  contrary  it  fluctuates  greatly  with 
the  willingness  of  the  consumer  to  buy.  But  this,  except  with- 
in limits,  is  not  a  sound  working  out  of  the  law  of  supply 
and  demand.  It  is  an  incident  to  the  unsound  basis  of  pro- 
duction which  still  prevails.  So  long  as  a  very  large  por- 
tion of  our  standing  timber  has  not  cost  the  owner  much  in 
either  price,  protection,  taxes  and  interest,  some  of  it  will  be 
put  on  the  market  at  a  low  price  in  order  to  carry  a  milling 
business  through  a  depressed  period,  to  realize  money,  or  for 
other  exigency  reasons.  So  may  a  wheat  grower  lose  money 
on  one  or  two  years'  crops.  But  if  in  the  long  run  the  world 
refuses  to  pay  for  wheat  what  it  costs  to  grow  it,  wheat  will 
not  be  grown.  The  real  question  is  whether  or  not  the  world 
needs  forests  enough  to  pay  for  them. 

Demand  Will  Continue 

It  is  evident,  from  the  history  of  older  countries,  that  it 
does.  While  consumption  per  capita  will  undoubtedly  de- 
crease, population  is  growing.  Substitution  will  be  necessary, 
but  will  not  supplant  wood  for  a  multitude  of  purposes.  Much 
has  been  said  about  the  use  of  steel,  concrete  and  like  ma- 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  27 

terials  in  building.  The  building  trades  only  use  60  per  cent 
of  our  lumber  today,  without  considering  fuel.  It  is  unlikely 
that  the  reduction  of  this  percentage  will  very  much  more 
than  offset  the  growth  in  volume  of  the  reduced  percentage 
due  to  increased  population.  Fifty  years  ago  there  was  scarce- 
ly a  lumber  user  west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  We  know  the 
settlements,  mines,  railroads  and  cities  that  have  developed 
since  to  use  lumber.  It  is  a  poor  Westerner  who  doubts  that 
the  next  fifty  years  will  see  a  far  greater  development.  And 
the  Panama  Canal  is  coming,  with  the  certain  result  of  mak- 
ing our  fast- producing  forests  able  to  compete  successfully 
with  Eastern  and  European  forest  crops  grown  with  less  nat- 
ural advantage. 

Moreover,  we  now  use  three  and  a  half  times  as  much  wood 
a  year  as  our  forests  produce.  Consequently  the  demand 
might  even  fall  off  three  and  a  half  times  and  still  consume 
the  product.  And  the  forest  producing  area  diminishes  con- 
stantly. Little  as  we  now  consider  the  possibilities  of  food 
famine,  history  shows  that  nations  rapidly  increase  to  the 
limit  of  their  agricultural  production  or  beyond,  and  we  must 
reckon  not  only  on  our  own  increase  but  also  upon  immigra- 
tion from,  and  export  to,  nations  whose  pressure  upon  their 
production  exceeds  ours.  It  is  certain  that  land  now  consid- 
ered too  remote,  rough  and  poor  for  agriculture  will  be  put 
to  that  use.  We  know  that  other  countries  do  not  to  any  con- 
siderable extent  devote  land  to  forest  that  will  grow  food 
crops  at  all  well. 

Adjustment  Only  Question  of  Time 

Consequently  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  within  reasonable 
limits  the  consumer  will  be  glad  to  pay  the  cost  of  growing 
timber  when  he  is  obliged  to  do  so.  It  is  also  to  be  expected 
that  the  community  will  desire  to  maintain  a  resource  which 
employs  labor,  pays  taxes,  and  conserves  stream  flow.  There- 
fore, the  price  of  lumber  will  be  governed,  as  the  price  of 
every  staple  commodity  is  governed,  by  a  cost  of  production 


28  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

including  reasonable  profit  by  those  engaged  in  the  several 
stages  of  the  process.  That  it  will  include  the  growing  of 
new  timber  on  a  sound,  profitable  basis  is  proved  by  the  his- 
tory of  other  countries  which  have  undergone  the  same  regu- 
lation. This,  after  all,  is  the  strongest  argument  with  which 
to  answer  the  skeptic  who,  on  premises  and  judgment  of  his 
own,  doubts  the  above  conclusions.  We  need  not  claim  greater 
prophetic  ability,  but  have  only  to  make  the  undeniable  asser- 
tion that  hindsight  is  better  than  foresight.  Nothing  demon- 
strates economic  laws  so  irrefutably  as  experience. 

Less  than  29  per  cent  of  the  land  area  of  the  United  States 
is  occupied  by  forests  today,  including  swamps,  burns  and 
much  land  which  will  be  devoted  to  agriculture.  Germany, 
where  great  economy  of  material  is  practiced,  where  wooden 
buildings  are  far  fewer,  where,  indeed,  the  per  capita  con- 
sumption is  only  a  seventh  of  ours,  keeps  26  per  cent  of  her 
land  area  under  the  most  expensive  forest  management  and 
finds  the  profit  constantly  increasing.  She  is  increasing 
her  production  and  importing  heavily  from  countries  where 
lumber  is  cheap,  like  the  United  States,  yet  the  net  returns 
per  acre  from  the  forests  of  Baden  rose  from  $2.38  in  1880 
to  $5.08  in  1902.  This  was  due  largely,  of  course,  to  improve- 
ment of  management.  In  France  lands  which  only  fifty  years 
ago  could  not  be  sold  for  $4  an  acre  now  bring  an  annual 
revenue  of  $3.  In  1903  the  town  forest  of  Wintertime 
Switzerland,  brought  net  receipts  of  $11.69  an  acre.  These 
are  fair  examples  in  countries  where  the  influence  tending 
toward  less  use  of  wood  have  been  working  for  a  very  long 
lime.  They  show  such  influences  do  not  result  in  refusal  to 
pay  the  cost  of  growing  all  the  wood  that  can  be  grown.  Wood 
consumption  in  European  countries  is  increasing  at  a  rate  of 
from  iy2  to  2  per  cent  a  year.  In  other  words,  the  con- 
sumers are  actually  willing  to  pay  for  more  wood  than  they 
have  found  necessary,  and  are  warranting  the  growers  in 
adopting  still  more  expensive  methods  to  increase  the  output. 
Nor  has  forest  growing  proved  to  be  possible  only  by  the  State 
or  Government.    In  Germany  46.5  per  cent  of  the  forest  area 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  29 

is  owned  privately,  in  Austria  61  per  cent,  in  France  65 
per  cent,  in  Norway  70  per  cent.  While  it  is  true  that  the 
European  private  owner  has  better  tax  and  fire  conditions,  it 
must  also  be  remembered  that  the  value  of  the  land  on  which 
he  makes  the  growing  crop  yield  a  good  dividend  is  about 
ten  times  as  high  as  it  now  is  in  the  United  States. 

The  prospective  grower  of  new  timber  in  the  American 
West  can  expect  equal  profit  here  at  some  time.  His  chief 
concern  is  whether  its  foreshadowing  influences  are  suffi- 
ciently strong  at  present.  To  determine  this  he  must  consider 
the  probable  attitude  of  the  public  and  of  the  lumbermen 
themselves. 

What  It  Means  to  the  Consumer 

To  the  consumer  the  principles  previously  outlined  mean 
that  the  price  of  lumber  will  rise  somewhat.  Indeed,  he  must 
expect  that,  regardless  of  the  production  factor,  for  the  tim- 
ber owner  cannot  pay  taxes,  prevent  fire,  and  keep  his  money 
tied  up,  all  for  a  considerable  period,  and  still  sell  the  ma- 
terial as  cheap  as  he  could  before  these  expenses  accrued.  It 
also  means  that  if  the  consumer  fails  to  recognize  and  con- 
cede these  principles  it  will  be  at  his  own  sacrifice.  Too  low 
prices  now  merely  mean  too  high  prices  in  the  early  future, 
for  they  will  not  permit  protection,  economy  or  reforestation. 
He  must  eventually,  and  not  far  hence,  pay  the  total  cost 
of  production.  It  is  urgently  to  his  interest  not  to  add  to 
this  by  preventing  production  and  thus  permitting  the  owner 
of  the  timber  already  produced  to  speculate  on  the  approach- 
ing shortage. 

The  danger  of  this  can  be  illustrated  by  a  comparison.  Sup- 
pose three-quarters  of  the  apple  growers  of  the  country,  either 
through  ignorance  of  the  principles  of  their  industry  or 
through  shortage  of  money  with  which  to  pay  their  debts, 
should  be  forced  for  a  considerable  period  to  accept  a  price 
for  their  crop  so  low  that  after  paying  current  bills  they  were 
obliged  to  neglect  their  orchards  absolutely,  without  plow- 


30  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

ing,  fencing  or  spraying.  Suppose  further  that  the  public 
should  also  destroy  a  large  portion  of  the  orchards,  as  the 
forests  are  by  fire,  and  also  overtax  the  land  so  as  to  com- 
plete the  discouragement.  Clearly  apples  would  immediately 
go  up.  A  few  growers  would  doubtless  escape  absolute  de- 
struction and  these,  as  long  as  their  orchards  lasted,  would 
demand  a  price  overbalancing  many  times  the  saving  the  con- 
sumer made  temporarily  while  he  was  destroying  the  indus- 
try. Everyone  concerned  would  be  worse  off  than  if  prices 
had  remained  just  high  enough  to  maintain  an  adequate  sup- 
ply- 

It  is  improbable,  however,  that  the  consumer  will  ever 
voluntarily  pay  more  than  he  has  to,  even  if  it  is  to  his 
ultimate  advantage.  The  most  that  can  be  hoped  is  that  as 
the  public  at  large  comes  to  understand  the  situation,  it  will 
not  support  him  in  the  claim  that  injustice  is  being  done  by 
the  rises  he  is  forced  to  meet  as  conditions  adjust  themselves. 
His  reluctance  will  retard,  but  not  stop,  the  progress  of  good 
forest  management. 

States  Will  Take  a  Hand 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
people  of  the  timber-producing  states  will  gradually  come  to 
see  that  their  interest,  as  well  as  that  of  the  lumberman,  is  to 
be  furthered  by  placing  the  industry  on  a  sound  basis.  Sell- 
ing more  lumber  than  they  consume,  they  will  not  rejoice  over 
low  prices  any  more  than  a  wheat  state  does  over  the  fall  of 
wheat  because  it  uses  some  flour,  but  they  will  be  equally 
unable  to  exert  much  stiffening  influence  on  the  price.  Con- 
sequently they  will  probably  attempt  to  sustain  the  industry 
by  increasing  production.  But  in  this  attempt  they  will  con- 
sider immediate  community  advantage  first,  future  com- 
munity advantage  next,  and  the  lumberman's  advantage  only 
as  it  is  incidental.  And  such  measures  as  they  endorse  they 
are  likely  to  enforce  by  law. 

We  see,  then,  that  two  forces  are  making  for  the  better 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  31 

handling  of  our  forest  resources;  the  economic  necessity  of 
the  public  and  the  business  advantage  of  the  owner.  Both 
demand  the  maximum  production.  Obviously,  since  their 
aims  are  identical,  each  has  to  gain  from  earnest  cooperation. 
Neither  can  succeed  alone,  for  the  owner  cannot  go  far  against 
hostile  laws  or  sentiment,  and  the  public  cannot  accomplish 
half  as  much  by  compulsion  as  by  encouraging  the  owner. 
But  the  great  danger  to  each  lies  in  mutual  distrust,  which 
defers  the  establishment  of  effective  cooperation. 

Lumberman  Must  Show  Good  Faith 

The  primary  and  all-important  moral  which  all  this  points 
out  to  the  lumberman  is  that  his  position  under  coming  con- 
ditions will  be  largely  what  he  makes  it  by  his  own  attitude. 
With  the  rapidity  with  which  he  gets  into  a  position  where 
his  voice  is  listened  to  as  unselfish  and  authoritative  on  the 
conservation  subject,  will  his  influence  on  the  new  conditions 
be  measured.  Therefore,  he  must  study  the  subject.  He 
must  be  able  to  support  good  laws  and  oppose  bad  laws  with 
facts  and  arguments  which  will  stand  scrutiny.  Above  all, 
he  must  show  faith  by  practicing  what  he  preaches  so  far 
as  he  is  able.  He  must  show  conclusively  the  injustice  of  the 
public  suspicion  from  which  he  suffers. 

Conservative  forest  management  has  three  essentials :  Pro- 
tection, utilization  and  reproduction.  The  last  particularly 
depends  on  the  first.  The  timber  owner  cannot  protect 
adequately  alone.  Before  he  can  expect  much  public  help, 
however,  he  must  show  his  willingness  to  do  his  share,  for  the 
state  will  not  assume  the  whole  burden.  The  progressive 
members  of  the  industry  have  shown  it  already,  and  the  result 
is  evident  in  the  commencement  of  the  states  to  help.  Their 
help  will  increase  in  the  proportion  that  private  effort  spreads. 

Presumably  it  will  be  the  same  with  reforestation.  With 
the  fire  hazard  lessened  there  will  remain  the  obstacle  of  over- 
taxation on  property  returning  no  income  with  which  to  meet 
it.    The  public  will  doubtless  soon  see  that  this  is  bad  for  the 


32  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

community,  but  will  hesitate  to  forego  present  revenue  in 
order  to  reap  greater  future  revenue  until  convinced  that  the 
owner  will  actually  reforest  if  given  the  chance.  Even  if  no 
actual  desire  to  take  advantage  is  ascribed,  there  may  be  fear 
that  he  will  make  no  active  effort  to  start  and  protect  the  sec- 
ond crop,  but  will  merely  continue  the  course  of  least  expense 
in  the  hope  that  a  new  forest  will  establish  itself,  with  little 
to  lose  if  it  fails.  Before-  he  will  receive  the  encouragement 
he  deserves,  he  must  prove  his  good  faith.  The  surest  way 
to  do  this  is  to  begin  actual  work  now,  where  he  can  without 
certainty  of  failure.  Unfortunately,  this  is  often  impossible, 
but  he  can  at  least  study  and  experiment  so  he  can  argue  con- 
vincingly that  mutual  success  will  follow  reasonable  en- 
couragement. 

Circumstances  Determine  Profit 

Let  us  assume,  then,  that  it  is  best  for  the  lumberman  to 
start  the  practice  of  forestry  for  the  purpose  of  strengthening 
his  position  and  getting  the  most  favorable  conditions  possi- 
ble for  its  general  adoption  and  continuance.  How  much  does 
he  depend  upon  success  in  this  ?  Obviously,  early  public  favor 
will  hasten  and  add  to  the  security  of  forest  growing  as  a 
business,  but  is  it  absolutely  essential?  Do  existing  condi- 
tions and  inevitable  future  conditions,  regardless  of  public  in- 
telligence, furnish  premises  upon  which  we  can  calculate  cer- 
tain profit  in  some  degree  ? 

This  depends  upon  the  circumstances  of  the  individual  in- 
vestor. Without  an  expectation  of  more  favorable  fire  and 
tax  influences,  reforestation  cannot  be  universally  recom- 
mended as  a  business  proposition.  Many  timber  owners  are 
not  warranted  in  undertaking  it.  Not  enough  are  warranted 
in  doing  so  to  insure  the  future  timber  supply  upon  which 
public  welfare  depends.  Nevertheless,  there  are  conditions 
under  which  it  is  a  good  investment.  It  is  even  probable  that 
for  those  who  are  well  situated,  the  very  obstacles  which  deter 
others  will  be   advantageous  through  reducing  competition. 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  33 

This  fact  is  of  peculiar  significance  to  the  public,  for  if  the 
latter  fails  to  stimulate  reforestation  generally  it  will  plug 
directly  into  the  hands  of  the  few  who  are  independent  of 
encouragement. 

It  is  customary,  in  speculating  upon  the  profits  of  a  second 
limber  crop,  to  attempt  to  reduce  it  to  a  financial  Calculation 
based  upon  estimated  yield,  estimated  future  values  and 
estimated  carrying  charges.  These  considerations  are  im- 
portant, but  their  importance  is  largely  in  proportion  to  the 
financial  weakness  of  the  prospective  timber  grower.  We  re- 
vert again  to  the  practical  certainty  that  unless  reforestation 
is  general,  the  exhaustion  of  virgin  timber  will  be  followed  by 
a  shortage,  and  that  the  man  who  has  a  second  crop  at  that 
time  can  obtain  a  price  which  will  reimburse  his  carrying 
charges  be  they  high  or  low.  The  cost  of  overcoming  present 
obstacles  will  be  shifted  to  the  consumer.  The  possibility  of 
such  an  investment  is  determined  largely  by  ability  to  main- 
tain a  protective  system  with  economy  and  to  bear  the  expense 
of  this  and  of  heavy  taxation  during  the  period  of  no  return. 

In  short,  the  weakness  of  the  ordinary  financial  calculation 
upon  existing  conditions  is  that  it  attempts  to  estimate  future 
stumpage  values  without  knowledge  of  the  true  factor  which 
will  determine  them.  This  factor  is  not  the  probable  rise  of 
existing  stumpage  while  it  continues  to  exist,  but  is  the  extent 
of  the  new-grown  supply  which  will  follow  it  provided  exist- 
ing conditions  remain  unchanged.  It  is  inconsistent  to  figure 
the  cost  upon  almost  prohibitive  present  conditions  without 
also  recognizing  that  such  conditions,  if  continued,  will  com- 
pletely change  the  influences  which  now  determine  the  market. 

Who  Can  Afford  to  Reforest  jSTow 

On  the  other  hand,  timber  owners  have  by  no  means  equal 
opportunity  to  take  advantage  of  this  fact.  The  productive 
capacity  of  their  land  varies,  their  taxes  vary,  the  extent  and 
location  of  their  holdings  affects  the  expense  of  protection 
against  fire,  and  they  have  not  the  same  facilities  for  financ- 


34  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY   IN 

ing  a  long  term  investment.  It  is  the  balance  of  these  factors 
that  determine  their  opportunity.  Assuming  rate  of  timber 
growth  to  be  equal,  present  fire  and  tax  conditions  classify 
them  in  relative  advantage  about  as  follows: 

1.  Owners  of  large  holdings  of  virgin  timber  who  can 
meet  carrying  charges  by  occasional  sales  at  a  profit  over 
their  purchase  price,  but  will  not  sell  much  more  than  is 
necessary  because  all  they  can  afford  to  hold  is  advancing  in 
value.  Such  owners  have  more  or  less  land  deforested  by  fire 
or  their  own  milling  operations,  and  will  incline  to  sell  only 
stumpage  without  land.  This  land  is  not  easily  realized  upon 
at  present,  and  for  the  speculative  reason  stated,  they  will 
continue  in  business  long  enough  to  grow  a  new  crop  on  it. 
The  larger  their  holdings,  the  greater  the  certainty  of  this 
and  the  cheaper,  relatively,  the  cost  of  protection.  Moreover, 
concerns  dealing  with  large  and  long  term  investments  can 
consider  a  lower  interest  rate. 

2.  Owners  with  less  facility  for  making  an  actual  profit 
through  growing  timber,  but  desiring  to  maintain  a  milling 
business.  Even  if  the  cost  of  growing  approaches  or  equals 
the  value  of  the  crop,  they  will  be  able  to  count  on  continued 
manufacturing  profit. 

(Both  of  the  above  classes  face  a  possibility  of  so  heavy 
a  tax  on  their  virgin  timber  in  some  instances  that  they  will 
be  obliged  to  cut  it  and  go  out  of  business.  This  is  unlikely 
to  occur  generally,  however,  for  tax  reform  is  almost  inevita- 
ble, and  it  would  have  a  compensatory  effect  of  enhancing  the 
value  of  the  second  crop.) 

3.  Owners  whose  holdings  are  not  large  enough  to  keep 
them  in  business  until  a  second  crop  matures  but  are  ad- 
vantageously located.  Second  growth  need  not  be  mature 
to  have  a  value.  As  the  present  supply  diminishes,  available 
coming  supply  will  gain  a  high  expectation  value  which  can 
be  realized  upon.  The  profit  it  offers  will  be  largely  de- 
termined by  its  proximity  to  market  and  especially  by  its 
proximity  to  established  mills  which  see  their  own  supply  run- 
ning short  and  have  failed,  through  inability  or  lack  of  fore- 


THE   PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  35 

sight,  to  engage  in  reforestation  themselves.  It  will  also  be 
affected  by  tax  and  fire  charges,  and  the  latter,  especially, 
will  be  largely  a  matter  of  location. 

4.  The  owner  with  no  peculiar  advantages,  who  can  only 
set  the  general  certainty  of  a  market  for  second  growth 
against  his  ability  to  carry  a  costly  and  uncertain  investment 
for  an  indeterminate  time. 

^  Of  course  a  first  consideration  in  most  cases  is  the  compara- 
tive profits  of  other  possible  investments  or,  in  other  words, 
the  exact  interest  demanded  as  satisfactory.    Individuals  are 
in  by  no  means  the  same  position  in  this  respect  by  either  in- 
clination, opportunity  or  talent.     Where  one  might  be  safer 
with  his  money  in  timber,  another  could  make  more  by  manu- 
facturing.    Generally  speaking,  however,  conservative  judg- 
ment leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  present  attitude  of  the 
public  warrants  the  first  of  the  above  four  classes  of  owners 
in  undertaking  inexpensive  reforestation  where  the  land  has 
little  sale  value  for  other  purposes  and  where  the  growth  and 
•  fire  factors  are  reasonably  favorable.     The  second  class  can 
also  undertake  it  to  advantage  on  much  the  same  basis,  but 
having  less  capacity  for  meeting  the  carrying  charge,  requires 
still  more  favorable  conditions.     The  third  class  must  have 
the  maximum  advantage  of  every  kind.     It  must  calculate 
closely  on  the  factors  of  cost  and  profit  indicated  by  present 
conditions.     In  most  cases  the  risk  will  be  too  great  for 
prudence,  and  in  nearly  all  financial  ability  will  be  lacking. 
The  fourth  class  cannot  even  consider  it  until  the  public's  at- 
titude changes. 

Better  Day  For  All  Is  Near 

^  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  pub- 
licly-imposed obstacles  will  decrease.  It  will  become  apparent 
that  their  persistence  is  bad  economy.  Fires  will  grow  fewer 
and  the  state  will  aid  in  patrol.  Reforestation  in  itself  is  a 
method  of  fire  prevention  when  it  places  a  green  young  growth 
on  a  fire-inviting  tract  of  sun-dried  litter  and  weeds.    Taxa- 


36  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY  IN 

tion  will  be  deferred.  As  the  country  develops  interest  rates 
will  fall,  making  it  easier  to  carry  forest  investments  and 
harder  to  gain  more  through  other  investments.  The  state 
itself  will  engage  more  and  more  in  forestry,  with  the  result 
of  making  its  principles  understood  and  endorsed.  Stumpage 
values  will  increase.  Immature  timber  will  have  a  sale  value, 
lessening  the  term  of  investment.  Gradually  the  business  will 
get  on  a  sound  production  basis,  better  for  the  consumer,  bet- 
ter for  the  state  supported  by  a  forest  income,  and  more 
profitable  for  the  grower.  Instead  of  capitalizing  bad  man- 
agement and  the  sacrifice  of  the  consumer,  which  in  effect  it 
does  now  by  forcing  the  prospective  grower  to  calculate  on 
covering  unnecessary  cost  in  the  price  received,  it  will  capi- 
talize the  earning  power  of  forest  land. 

While  final  adjustment  on  this  basis  is  still  in  the  future, 
it  is  by  no  means  entirely  dependent  upon  popular  foresight. 
The  process  is  going  on  constantly,  whether  we  know  it  or 
not.  The  sun  is  still  behind  the  horizon,  but  the  day  is  sure. 
Many  Western  timber  owners  are  still  in  too  dim  a  light  to 
make  their  footsteps  certain;  others  have  a  high  vantage 
ground  where  dawn  already  lights  the  path. 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  3$ 


CHAPTER  III 

FORESTRY  AND  THE  FOREST 

Elementary  Principles  of  Forest  Growth 

Whether  the  lumberman's  judgment  of  economic  influences 
leads  him  to  be  optimistic  or  otherwise  as  to  the  profit  of 
forestry  in  general,  he  is  most  interested  in  the  particular 
forest  with  which  he  has  to  deal.  He  can  neither  accept  nor 
dismiss  the  proposition  intelligently,  much  less  put  his  ideas 
into  actual  practice,  without  knowing  something  of  the  capa- 
bility of  his  land  to  respond  to  his  effort.  "What  methods  are 
best,  what  will  they  cost,  and  what  will  be  the  result?"  are 
questions  which  arise  at  the  very  outset.  They  lead  at  once 
into  the  domain  of  technical  forestry. 

With  us  forestry  has  not  been  practiced  long  enough  to  fur- 
nish demonstrated  examples  with  which  to  answer  such  ques- 
tions. We  can,  however,  profit  by  experience  gained  else- 
where, for  the  laws  which  govern  tree  life  are  as  universal  as 
those  which  govern  the  life  of  men  and  animals.  In  dealing 
with  new  species  and  new  environments  we  have  no  great  dif- 
ficulty in  judging  their  future  from  their  past,  which  lies 
written  plainly  for  those  who  care  to  study  it. 

While  to  some  extent  trees  require  elements  obtainable  only 
from  the  soil,  they  are  more  independent  in  this  respect  than 
most  other  forms  of  vegetation.  Soil  influences  forest  trees 
mainly  by  its  physical  character,  especially  as  this  determines 
the  moisture  contents.  Very  little  nourishment  is  actually 
taken  out  of  the  soil  for,  as  someone  has  said,  wood  is  nothing 


38  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

but  air  solidified  by  sunshine.  A  tree's  immense  and  com- 
plicated foliage  system  is  the  laboratory  with  which  it  effects 
this  transformation. 

Since  air  exists  everywhere  and  the  chemical  quality  of  the 
soil  is  comparatively  unimportant,  the  requirements  of  dif- 
ferent species  for  light,  heat  and  moisture  are  what  mainly 
determine  their  distribution  and  habits  of  growth.  And  since 
heat  and  moisture  are  largely  climatic  factors  and  fairly  uni- 
form in  given  localities,  it  follows  that  the  demand  of  a 
species  upon  light  may  practically  fix  its  habits  and  possibili- 
ties in  those  localities.  The  very  great  variance  of  species  in 
light  requirement  accounts  to  a  large  extent  for  the  composi- 
tion of  most  primeval  forests.  It  is  of  peculiar  importance 
in  the  management  of  forests  by  man  because  he  cannot  con- 
trol it  as  he  may  be  able  to  control  some  of  the  other  agencies 
which  affected  the  primeval  forest,  such  as  fire  or  seed  supply. 

Selection  Forests 

It  would  be  unprofitable  to  discuss  here  all  the  many  meth- 
ods of  forest  management  which  have  proved  to  be  best,  tech- 
nically, for  given  species  and  combinations  of  species.  Where 
market  and  transportation  facilities  are  highly  favorable,  as 
in  Europe,  the  timber  owner  can  adopt  the  method  which  will 
bring  the  best  results,  but  here  he  has  no  such  choice.  He 
can  but  bear  in  mind  certain  fundamental  principles,  uni- 
formly applicable  to  large  areas  for  considerable  periods  of 
time.  Roughly,  however,  our  Western  forests  can  be  classi- 
fied by  their  adaptability  to  the  two  directly  opposite  systems, 
known  as  clean  cutting  and  selection  cutting,  of  which  almost 
all  methods  are  modifications. 

A  selection  forest  is  one  in  which  all  ages  of  trees  exist, 
from  seedling  to  maturity.  It  is  the  natural  growth  of  species 
which  are  tolerant  of  shade.  In  a  natural  state,  undisturbed 
by  cutting,  it  maintains  much  the  same  aspect  continuously, 
for  as  the  oldest  trees  die,  their  place  is  taken  by  younger 
ones.     Obviously  such  a  forest  must  be  composed  of  species, 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  39 

whether  one  or  several,  which  can  grow  beneath  its  own  shade. 
The  imderstories  of  varying  ages  are  as  dense  as  their  light  re- 
quirements and  the  density  of  the  overwood  permit. 

The  common  hardwood  forests  of  the  East  illustrate  one 
type  of  the  natural  selection  forest.  On  the  Pacific  slope  an 
example  is  afforded,  by  hemlock,  either  practically  pure  or 
mixed  with  white  fir,  but  probably  the  most  typical  is  the 
ordinary  Western  yellow  pine  under  certain  conditions.  At 
its  best  this  tree  composes  a  forest  so  dense  that  all  young 
growth  is  shaded  out,  but  everyone  is  familiar  with  the  fre- 
quent opener  stand  containing  all  ages.  The  younger  trees 
are  often  called  blackjack. 

Even-Aged  Fokests 

On  the  other  hand,  trees  extremely  intolerant  of  shade 
occur  only  in  what  the  forester  calls  even-aged  forests.  Being 
unable  to  start  in  the  darkness  of  an  existing  stand  of  any 
considerable  density,  they  must  seize  opportunities  to  recover 
openings.  The  Douglas  fir  of  the  Northwest,  more  commonly 
called  red  or  yellow  fir,  is  an  excellent  illustration.  In  the 
interior  states  this  species  reproduces  under  cover  to  some 
extent,  because  there  is  a  stronger  light  average  throughout 
the  year  and  because  the  stand  is  not  so  dense.  In  the  typical 
Douglas  fir  forests  of  Oregon  and  Washington,  discussed  in 
this  booklet,  it  never  does  so.  While  hemlock,  cedar  and 
white  fir  undergrowth  may  be  abundant,  Douglas  fir  seedlings 
are  seldom  seen  except  in  burns,  slashings,  roads,  or  open 
spots  in  the  woods.  And  the  fir  trees  composing  the  domi- 
nant stand  are  of  nearly  the  same  age. 

How,  then,  did  this  even-aged  fir  forest  begin?  Close 
scrutiny  will  practically  always  find  the  answer  in  fragments 
of  charred  wood.  Long  ago  another  similar  forest  occupied 
the  ground  until  lightning  or  an  Indian's  fire  started  a  new 
cycle.  Possibly  recurring  burns  swept  the  area  many  times 
before  wind-blown  seeds  began  to  start  advance  groups  of  fir, 
which,  when  fifteen  or  twenty  years  old,  themselves  fruited 


40  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

and  filled  the  blanks  between  them.  Perhaps  destruction  was 
not  so  complete  and  surviving  trees  made  the  process  a  swifter 
one.  Except  in  the  very  oldest  forests,  where  remains  of  the 
original  stand  have  entirely  rotted  away,  the  history  in  either 
case  may  be  read  in  ancient  snags  and  fallen  logs. 

Suppose,  however,  that  fire  had  not  come  to  aid  the  fir  in 
perpetuating  itself  ?  This,  too,  we  can  answer  from  the  signs 
today.  Every  Northwestern  woodsman  knows  tracts  of  vary- 
ing size  (usually  small  because  fire  has  been  almost  universal) 
covered  with  big  old  hemlock,  white  fir  and  cedar,  with  here 
and  there  a  dying  giant  fir,  perhaps,  but  mainly  showing  fir 
occupancy  only  by  rotting  stumps  and  logs.  No  sign  of  fire 
is  seen.  When  this  fir  forest  was  approaching  middle  age, 
the  shade  bearing  species  began  to  appear  beneath  it.  As 
the  firs  began  to  crowd  themselves  out,  the  later  comers  shot 
up  with  the  increased  light  and  filled  the  open  places.  At 
last  the  even-aged  fir  forest  was  completely  transformed  into 
a  selection  forest  of  other  trees,  which  will  remain  until  some 
accident  again  gives  fir  a  chance  if  any  survives  near  enough 
to  reach  the  spot  with  seed. 

Douglas  fir  is  not  the  only  Western  tree  which  usually 
grows  in  even-aged  stands.  Lodgepole  pine  has  the  same 
habit,  often  supplanting  yellow  pine  after  fire  or  logging. 
Western  white  pine  is  perhaps  more  tolerant  than  Douglas  fir, 
hence  more  likely  to  hold  its  own  without  artificial  aid,  but 
is  also  more  certain  to  compete  successfully  if  it  has  such  aid. 
The  same  is  true  of  tamarack. 

Nature  as  a  Model 

We  thus  see  that  if  economic  reasons  suggest  it,  we  may 
use  the  selection  system  as  a  basis  for  artificially  managing 
the  shade  bearing  species  such  as  hemlock,  white  fir,  cedar, 
spruce,  and  even  Western  yellow  pine.  We  may  cut  the 
largest  and  oldest  trees  and  still  have  a  well  started  second 
crop.  If  there  is  not  much  young  growth  to  leave,  even  a  lit- 
tle is  valuable.     It  may  be  decidedlv  best  to  leave  medium 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  41 

sized  trees,  which  otherwise  we  would  cut,  because  they  are 
still  growing  rapidly. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  see  that  this  method  would  not  be 
of  any  advantage  at  all  in  insuring  a  second  crop  of  Douglas 
fir,  for  there  is  no  young  growth  of  this  species  to  protect. 
The  small  and  medium  sized  trees,  instead  of  being  immature, 
are  merely  stunted  specimens  of  the  same  age  as  their  larger 
brothers  and  unlikely  to  gain  in  size  if  left.  Selection  cutting 
here  would  save  for  future  use  only  such  understory  of  shade- 
bearing  species  as  may  exist.  Unless  this  is  an  object,  the 
best  plan  is  to  cut  clean  and  get  all  we  can.  If  we  leave  any 
fir  at  all  it  is  for  the  purpose  of  reseeding,  not  to  secure  bet- 
ter utilization  of  the  trees  themselves,  and  whether  we  do  so 
depends,  theoretically  at  least,  upon  whether  it  is  better  than 
artificial  seeding  or  planting.  In  short,  selection  cutting  har- 
vests the  ripest  trees  of  a  perpetual  forest,  while  clean  cutting 
destroys  the  forest  in  order  to  start  an  entirely  new  and  more 
rapid  growing  one. 

Clean  cutting  is  therefore  necessary  as  well  as  natural  in 
dealing  with  intolerant  trees.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  the 
selection  system,  although  natural  to  tolerant  species,  is  the 
only  one  adaptable  to  them.  "While  the  one  class  demands 
light,  the  other  does  not  demand  shade.  It  is  merely  capable 
of  enduring  it.  Indeed,  except  for  the  greater  susceptibility 
of  some  species  to  extreme  heat  and  dryness  when  very  young, 
as  a  rule  shade  bearing  trees  grow  much  better  if  they  do 
have  ample  light  supply.  Consequently  clean  cutting  may  be 
the  best  system  for  these  also  under  certain  economic  condi- 
tions. 

Besides  its  influence  upon  the  occurrence  of  species  in  the 
forest,  light  practically  governs  the  physical  form  of  the  in- 
dividual tree.  If  grown  in  an  opening  and  not  artificially 
pruned,  a  tree  will  have  a  conical  trunk  and  living  branches 
almost  down  to  the  ground.  The  denser  and  consequently 
darker  the  forest,  the  more  cylindrical  the  trunk,  the  smaller 
the  crown  of  branches  and  the  greater  the  clear  length.  Tbe 
individual  tree  has  no  object  in  assuming  a  desirable  com- 


42  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

mercial  form  and  does  so  only  when  deprived  of  side  light  by 
numerous  neighbors.  Then  it  sacrifices  diameter  growth  to 
height  growth  in  reaching  for  the  top  light  necessary  for 
its  life.  At  the  same  time  the  lower  branches  are  killed  by 
shade  and  drop  off,  the  scars  being  healed  and  eventually 
buried.  The  pin  knots  near  the  center  of  a  big  clear  log  are 
the  remains  of  branches  which  when  living  were  at  the  top  of 
the  young  tree. 

This  is  why,  if  it  is  to  produce  good  timber,  any  forest  must 
be  dense  enough  to  cover  the  ground  throughout  the  early 
part  of  its  life  at  least.  "When  we  see  an  excellent  clear  stand 
of  mature  Douglas  fir,  for  example,  Ave  may  know  that  it  con- 
sists of  the  comparatively  few  survivors  of  a  close  sapling 
growth  in  which  the  weak  were  gradually  killed  out  after 
serving  their  office  of  pruning  and  forcing  the  vigorous.  Had 
only  the  trees  we  now  see  been  on  the  ground  they  would 
be  worthless  except  for  firewood.  For  the  same  reason  artifi- 
cial forest  planting  must  be  thick,  although  the  fillers  or 
nurse  trees  may  be  of  inferior  species  if  not  of  so  rapid 
growth  as  to  gain  the  mastery. 

Nature  teaches  many  lessons  which  we  must  recognize  in 
artificial  management  or  fail,  but  she  is  no  more  the  best 
grower  of  forest  crops  than  she  is  of  agricultural  crops.  We 
have  to  study  natural  methods  of  forest  perpetuation  to  see 
how  they  may  be  improved  upon  as  much  as  to  adopt  them  as 
models.  As  a  rule  the  virgin  forest  is  exceedingly  wasteful  of 
ground.  The  possibilities  under  intelligent  care  are  not  in- 
dicated by  nature's  average,  but  by  her  accidental  best,  and 
usually  they  far  exceed  even  this.  A  fair  comparison  is  that 
of  scientific  farming  with  unsystematic  gleaning  from  wild 
and  untended  fields.  The  foregoing  general  principles  of 
forest  growth  have  been  purposely  outlined  very  briefly  so  as 
to  serve  as  a  mere  introduction  to  their  application  or  modifi- 
cation in  concrete  cases. 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  43 

MANAGEMENT  OF  SPECIFIC  TYPES 

Douglas  Fir  (Pseudotsuga  tazifolia) 

Compared  with  most  important  commercial  trees,  the 
Northwestern  Douglas  fir  is  remarkably  easy  to  reproduce.  It 
is  an  abundant  seeder,  grows  very  rapidly,  and  inhabits  a 
region  with  every  climatic  advantage.  In  the  typical  fir  dis- 
tricts of  Oregon  and  Washington  deforested  land  which 
escapes  recurring  fire  is  usually  restocked  naturally  and  with 
astonishing  rapidity. 

The  exceptions  to  this  rule  are  where  the  destruction  of 
seed  trees  has  been  wide  and  absolute,  where  already  estab- 
lished competing  species  are  not  removed  with  the  original 
forest,  and  where  the  surviving  fir  is  too  old  to  seed.  The  two 
latter  conditions  are  most  prevalent  near  the  coast,  where  the 
wet  climate  not  only  tends  to  protect  slashings  from  fire  and 
thus  preserve  the  undergrowth  of  shade  bearing  species  which 
escapes  logging,  but  has  also  prevented  the  accidental  de- 
struction in  the  past  of  the  original  fir  stand  by  fire. 

In  considering  these  natural  results  as  they  bear  upon  pro- 
posed methods,  we  find  actual  destruction  of  seed  supply  the 
easiest  to  avoid.  If  the  original  stand  contains  suitable  seed 
trees  we  can  protect  a  sufficient  number  of  them.  If  not,  or 
if  it  is  less  expensive,  we  can  secure  seed  elsewhere.  More 
frequent  difficulty  will  lie  in  determining  whether  the  repro- 
duction of  fir  should  be  the  sole  effort,  or  whether  it  should 
not  be  sacrificed,  if  necessary,  in  order  to  utilize  an  existing 
start  toward  a  second  crop  of  other  species.  This  is  of  peculiar 
and  early  importance,  for  it  usually  also  decides  the  question 
of  protecting  the  slashing  from  fire. 

If  the  present  stand  is  nearly  pure  fir,  or  if  other  species 
are  represented  almost  wholly  by  merchantable  trees,  there 
will  be  no  young  growth  worth  saving.  A  new  crop  must  be 
started  from  seed,  and  since  fir  is  the  quickest  and  easiest  to 
grow,  as  well  as  probably  the  most  valuable,  it  should  be  given 
every  encouragement. 


44  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 


Slash  Burning  and  Its  Exceptions. 

In  most  cases  this  requires  burning  the  ground  after  log- 
ging, not  only  to  reduce  the  future  fire  risk  but  also  to  pro- 
vide a  suitable  seedbed.  Fir  much  prefers  mineral  soil  to 
start  in,  as  is  easily  seen  from  the  far  greater  frequency  of 
seedlings  on  road  grades  than  on  adjacent  undisturbed 
ground  covered  with  humus  and  rotten  wood.  Hemlock  has 
no  such  fastidiousness,  even  preferring  rotten  wood  as  a  seed- 
lied.  To  protect  the  slashing  from  fire,  therefore,  both  pre- 
serves the  most  unfavorable  conditions  for  fir  and  subjects  it  to 
unnecessary  competition  by  its  rival.  Hemlock  seedlings 
already  established,  seeds  lying  on  the  ground,  and  surround- 
ing or  surviving  trees  which  may  scatter  more  seed,  are  all 
encouraged  to  shade  and  stifle  the  struggling  fir  seedlings 
already  handicapped  by  dislike  for  their  situation. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  large  proportion  of  what  we  now  con- 
sider typically  fir  forest  has  a  vigorous  ground  cover  of  hem- 
lock and  cedar  which  may  become  merchantable  many  years 
before  an  entirely  new  fir  crop  can  be  grown.  The  presumably 
greater  value  of  the  latter  may  be  consumed  by  the  heavier 
carrying  charge,  before  returns  are  available.  Certainly  if  the 
promise  of  profit  from  other  species  and  the  difficulty  of 
establishing  fir  both  reach  the  extreme,  protection  of  the 
growth  already  started  is  the  best  forestry  if  it  is  prac- 
ticable. Moreover,  there  may  be  considerable  young  growth 
of  other  species  under  conditions  which  do  not  preclude  satis- 
factory additional  reseeding  by  fir. 

When  the  owner  is  in  position  to  plan  far  into  the  future, 
like  the  Government  or  State,  he  may  seek  a  temporary  com- 
promise, although  expecting  eventually  to  secure  pure  fir.  In 
such  a  case  it  may  often  be  best  to  utilize  a  first  new  crop  of 
hemlock,  but  on  harvesting  this  a  few  decades  hence  to  burn 
clean  and  start  the  ncxl  rotation  with  fir  only. 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  45 


Conditions   Vary  Methods. 

Between  conditions  clearly  suggesting  one  course  or  an- 
other^ all  gradations  will  present  themselves  and  no  written 
rule  can  be  given  for  determining  the  dividing  line.  Much 
depends  upon  future  relative  values  of  species,  upon  which 
the  owner  will  have  his  own  opinion.  More  depends  upon  the 
character  of  existing  young  growth  and  consequent  adapta- 
bility to  changed  conditions  after  logging.  Even  a  very  thick 
stand  of  young  hemlock  is  unlikely  to  produce  much  if  the 
overwood  has  been  very  dense,  for  much  of  it  may  be  so  old 
and  stunted  by  shade  that  sudden  advent  of  strong  light  will 
result  merely  in  distorted  worthless  branch  growth  or  in 
killing  it  outright.  Occasional  vigorous  young  trees  just 
under  present  merchantable  size  are  of  doubtful  value  because 
they  are  likely  to  blow  down.  The  most  promising  class  of 
undergrowth  found  in  fir  forests  of  the  Northwest  is  where 
there  has  been  sufficient  light  to  produce  a  fairly  thick  stand 
of  young  hemlock  or  cedar  from  five  to  fifty  feet  high. 

If  the  undergrowth  from  which  any  second  crop  may  de- 
velop is  insufficient  to  be  worth  much  consideration,  and 
reseeding  must  be  depended  upon  entirely,  there  may  still  be 
a  question  as  to  species.  If  ample  natural  supply  of  fir  seed 
can  be  expected,  slash  burning  is"  indicated.  But  if  not  and 
the  owner  is  not  prepared  to  undertake  the  expense  of  arti- 
ficial seeding,  while  at  the  same  time  there  is  a  promising 
natural  hemlock  supply,  burning  has  no  object  except  the  re- 
duction of  future  fire  risk.  It  may  even  retard  hemlock  re- 
production, both  by  destroying  part  of  the  seed  supply  and  by 
encouraging  the  growth  of  brakes  on  the  area.  The  question 
here  is  a  really  financial  one.  The  cost  of  planting  fir  under 
these  conditions  may  be  more  than  reimbursed  by  the  re- 
sultant more  valuable  and  rapid  growing  crop.  The  owner 
must  do  his  own  conjecturing  as  to  future  comparative  values 
of  the  species. 

So  far  we  have  discussed  slash  burning  only  in  its  sylvi- 


46  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

cultural  relation,  finding  that  it  encourages  Douglas  fir  repro- 
duction and  is  consequently  advisable  in  Northwestern  Doug- 
las fir  types  unless  there  is  an  exceptionally  promising  sec- 
ond growth  already  started.  The  balance  will  be  further  in 
its  favor,  in  doubtful  cases,  because  of  the  protective  feature. 
This  is  discussed  more  fully  in  another  chapter,  but  it  is  well 
to  recall  here  that  immunity  from  recurring  fire  is  the  first 
essential  of  profitable  reforestation.  To  secure  second  growth 
by  treatment  which  threatens  its  -destruction  later  is  bad  man- 
agement unless  the  original  saving  is  ample  to  cover  subse- 
quent greater  cost  of  protection.    This  is  seldom  the  case. 

How  to  Reseed  the  Area. 

Dismissing  the  exceptions  noted,  and  returning  to  our  rule 
that  another  crop  of  Douglas  fir  is  usually  the  best  secured 
by  following  nature — cutting  practically  clean,  burning  the 
ground  and  starting  a  new  even-aged  stand — we  have  still  to 
consider  means  of  getting  this  stand  started.  We  may  depend 
upon  natural  reseeding  from  trees  preserved  for  the  purpose 
or  from  the  surrounding  forest,  or  we  may  resort  to  planting. 
What  are  the  comparative  advantages  of  these  two  methods 
and  the  circumstances  governing  choice  between  them? 

Hitherto,  students  of  the  subject  have  inclined  to  favor  nat- 
ural reproduction.  The  very  general  second  growth  on  de- 
forested land  where  no  aid  has  been  given  indicates  that  ex- 
cellent results  will  follow  s)ight  assistance.  Red  fir  fruits  fre- 
quently and  profusely,  and  the  seeds  carry  well  in  the  wind. 
Burns  have  been  known  to  restock  fully  from  seed  blown  from 
forested  hills  a  mile  or  more  awa)\  Moreover,  while  plant- 
ing always  involves  initial  expense,  sometimes  much  may  be 
done  to  insure  natural  seeding  with  little  or  no  actual  outlay. 

There  is  danger,  however,  that  in  many  instances  this 
economy  will  be  more  apparent  than  real  if  it  is  effected  by 
actually  leaving  much  value  in  seed  trees.  Abroad  and  in  the 
East  there  is  comparatively  little  loss  in  leaving  even  a  fourth 
or  fifth  of  the  original  stand  to  furnish  seed.    The  individual 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  47 

trees  left  may  be  good  seeders,  although  small.  Little  capital 
is  tied  up  in  them  and  they  may  be  utilized  later  to  equal 
advantage.  A  mature  fir  forest  of  the  Pacific  coast  may  have 
no  small  fruiting  trees  at  all,  and  if  left  such  are  likely  to 
be  knocked  down  in  logging.  To  leave  20  per  cent  of  the 
large  trees  standing  would  sometimes  tie  up  20,000  feet  to  the 
acre,  worth  $40  or  $50.  Age  and  windfall  may  cause  loss 
equal  to  stumpage  increase;  moreover,  they  can  never  be 
utilized  without  the  same  expense  for  roads  and  machinery 
that  is  necessary  in  the  original  logging.  The  second  crop 
will  not  be  allowed  to  reach  a  size  requiring  such  equipment. 
In  considering  possible  windfall  loss,  not  the  normal  wind 
but  the  possible  maximum  storm  within  the  entire  life  of  the 
second  crop  must  be  reckoned  with. 

It  is  probably  safe  to  say  of  mature  Pacific  coast  fir  that 
leaving  enough  merchantable  timber  on  a  cutting  area  for 
adequate  seeding  costs  more  than  to  use  it  and  restock.  Re- 
stocking can  be  done  for  $2  to  $10  an  acre,  which  would  leave 
a  decided  margin  for  profit  on  the  seed  trees.  And  if  we 
undertake  to  reduce  this  balance  by  leaving  very  few  seed 
trees,  we  decrease  the  certainty  of  successful  reproduction  and 
increase  the  danger  of  entire  failure  through  windfall  or  ac- 
cidental destruction  when  we  burn  the  slashing.  It  cannot  be 
denied,  however,  that  fire  after  planting  would  result  in  com- 
plete loss,  while  seed  trees  might  restock  the  area  again  and 
again  after  such  accidents. 

Natural  Reproduction. 

On  the  other  hand,  natural  reproduction  does  not  always 
require  the  leaving  of  merchantable  timber  on  the  cutting 
area.  Frequently  there  are  enough  crooked  or  conky  trees  to 
serve  the  purpose.  These  defects  are  not  directly  transmissi- 
ble through  seed  to  the  offspring,  although  conk  is  infectious 
and  the  young  crop  should  be  protected  by  the  removal  of  the 
diseased  parents  after  it  is  well  started. 

Again,  seeding  from  adjacent  timber  can  often  be  relied 


48  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

upon.  This  is  a  question  of  economy  in  logging  operations, 
lay  of  the  ground,  prevailing  wind  direction,  fertility  of  the 
stand  and  other  local  considerations.  A  valley  with  healthy 
fir  woods  on  either  side  is  likely  to  seed  up  promptly  even  if 
a  half  mire  wide.  So  is  a  flat  at  the  leeward  foot  of  a  hill 
timbered  on  the  summit  where  the  wind  strikes.  A  cutting 
on  a  ridge  is  correspondingly  unlikely  to  restock.  Theoreti- 
cally if  a  tract  of  timber  were  large  enough,  it  could  be  opened 
up  by  logging  operations  which,  instead  of  proceeding  steadily 
from  one  edge,  might  skip  every  other  landing  or  so  until  the 
most  remote  portion  was  reached  after  a  few  years,  and  then 
work  back  again,  cleaning  up  the  neglected  portions  after  they 
had  seeded  the  first  openings.  The  same  effect  sometimes  re- 
sults from  actual  accidental  practice. 

It  is  apparent  that  rules  cannot  be  laid  down  for  general 
application.  Generally  speaking,  a  logger  interested  in  fir 
reforestation  should  study  his  ground  to  see  if  naturally,  or, 
with  inexpensive  aid,  the  cut-over  area  will  not  reseed  from 
the  sides  and  from  the  cull  trees  he  will  leave  uncut.  If  not, 
he  may  leave  a  few  merchantable  seed  bearing  trees  provided 
the  soil  is  such  as  to  make  them  deep-rooted  and  wind-firm. 
Groups  are  better  than  single  trees  because  less  likely  to  be 
blown  down  and  easier  to  protect  from  the  slashing  fire.  More 
should  be  left  toward  the  windward  edge.  But  before  tieing 
up  any  considerable  sum  in  merchantable  trees  he  should  con- 
sider the  cost  and  safety  of  supplementing  any  shortage  of 
natural  supply  by  artificial  seeding. 

Western  Hemlock  (Tsuga  heterophylla) 

Since  hemlock  is  so  frecmently  associated  with  Douglas  fir, 
the  principles  governing  its  reproduction  and  its  relative 
promise  as  a  second  crop  have  necessarily  been  largely  covered 
in  the  preceding  discussion  of  fir.  The  following  remarks  are 
merely  additional. 

We  have  seen  that  the  perpetuation  of  hemlock  is  advisable 
only  where  fir  reproduction  is  difficult  to  obtain  or  will  be  at 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  49 

too  great  a  sacrifice  of  valuable  existing  hemlock.  The  first 
of  these  conditions  is  confined  chiefly  to  pure  hemlock  stands 
and  to  coast  regions  where  the  fir  is  often  too  old  to  seed  well. 
The  second  may  exist  on  the  coast  or  in  certain  moist  interior 
regions  where  there  is  a  heavy  hemlock  undergrowth.  In 
either  case  natural  hemlock  reproduction  will  be  counted  upon, 
both  because  it  is  practically  certain  to  occur  and  because  if  it 
were  not  certain  and  artificial  aid  were  necessary,  we  would 
abandon  hemlock  entirely  and  devote  our  efforts  to  fir.  In 
short,  discussion  of  hemlock  as  a  second  crop  need  not  in- 
clude systematic  attempts  to  seed  the  ground  but  may  be  con- 
fined to  protection  of  what  we  have  to  begin  with. 

In  a  straight  hemlock  proposition,  the  protection  question 
may  differ  considerably  from  that  involved  by  deciding  be- 
tween fir  and  hemlock.  In  the  latter  case,  because  of  the  as- 
sistance of  fire  to  fir,  the  growth  already  on  the  ground  must 
have  considerable  value  to  warrant  foregoing  the  several  ad- 
vantages of  slash  burning.  In  the  former,  slash  burning  has 
no  object  except  to  reduce  future  risk.  The  inference  is  that 
a  much  less  promising  stock  of  young  growth  is  worth  pro- 
tecting. 

While  this  is  true,  there  is  danger  of  overestimating  its 
value,  especially  if  care  is  not  taken  in  logging.  It  has  been 
remarked  that  suppressed  misshapen  hemlock  is  not  apt  to 
make  a  healthy  growth,  that  windfall  is  a  peril,  and  that  if 
the  previous  shade  has  been  heavy,  sudden  opening  to  sunlight 
may  be  fatal.  It  should  also  be  remembered  that  even  slightly 
injured  young  hemlock  is  worthless,  for  it  is  almost  certain 
to  be  attacked  by  borers.  Anything  which  deadens  a  small 
portion  of  the  bark  like  axe  blazes,  fire  scorch,  or  scars  from 
strap  leads,  is  dangerous.  Hemlock  is  more  liable  than  fir  to 
general  defects  like  black  streak,  borers,  fungous  disease  and 
mistletoe,  therefore  investment  in  reforestation  needs  the 
maximum  safeguard  against  them.  In  many  instances  better 
results  may  be  obtained  from  a  new  healthy  seedling  stand 
following  a  purifying  fire,  even  at  some  loss  of  time,  than 
from  well  started  young  growth  which  is  unhealthy  and  likely 


50  PRACTICAL    FORESTRY    IN 

not  only  to  fail  itself  but  also  to  infect  any  seedlings  which 
may  come  in  among  it.  Consequently  if  the  slashing  is  not 
large,  and  reproduction  from  the  sides  may  be  counted  on, 
the  above  considerations,  coupled  with  the  reduction  of  future 
fire  risk,  may  suggest  slash  burning  just  as  in  the  case  of  fir. 
The  remarks  apply  particularly  if  it  is  considered  necessary 
to  log  as  clean  as  possible. 

With  a  good,  healthy  start  toward  a  new  forest,  however,  it 
will  usually  be  best  to  keep  fire  out,  for  the  material  saved 
will  warrant  greater  expense  in  protection  during  the  grow- 
ing period.  Bepresentative  tracts,  both  on  the  coast  and  in 
the  Cascades,  have  been  studied  which  showed  that,  with 
care  in  lumbering,  enough  good  young  hemlock  too  small  for 
logs  or  skids  could  be  saved  after  present-day  logging  of  a 
heavy  mixed  fir  and  hemlock  stand  to  produce  in  fifty  years 
11,000  or  12,000  feet  of  timber  over  14  inches  in  diameter. 
This  would  not  be  wholly  additional  to  the  second  crop  of 
seedlings  which  might  be  produced  if  these  trees  were  not 
preserved,  for  the  ground  and  light  they  use  would  be  denied 
to  the  seedlings,  but  undoubtedly  the  yield  would  be  greater 
than  could  be  secured  if  they  were  destroyed. 

This  means  that  under  similar  conditions  we  may  go  still 
further  and  actually  apply  the  selection  system,  especially  if 
the  original  stand  is  nearly  pure  hemlock.  So  far  we  have 
discussed  areas  left  by  present-day  logging  methods.  Sup- 
pose, however,  the  owner  of  a  good  tract  of  hemlock,  having 
decided  that  conditions  do  not  warrant  trying  to  get  fir,  is 
willing  to  modify  his  methods  for  the  sake  of  better  hemlock 
returns  at  some  future  cutting.  He  would  probably  do  best 
to  take  out  only  the  mature  trees,  leaving  everything  which  is 
still  growing  with  fair  rapidity.  Greater  light  will  stimulate 
these  immensely  as  well  as  encourage  further  seeding  of  the 
ground.  The  few  merchantable  trees  he  spares,  together  with 
those  now  unmerchantable,  will,  in  perhaps  twenty  years, 
make  another  excellent  crop.  By  leaving  a  fairly  dense 
stand  he  prevents  the  windfall  danger  which  threatens  the 
survivors   of  too  vigorous   cutting,   and   also  prevents  them 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  51 

I 
from  assuming  the  branchy  form  of  trees  which  receive  too 

much  side  light.  The  fire  danger  is  much  reduced  by  result- 
ant shading  of  the  ground  and  slightly  by  the  lesser  cover  of 
debris.  In  short,  he  makes  the  most  economical  use  of  the 
ground,  and  the  capital  represented  by  the  trees  he  spares 
is  well  invested. 

To  sum  up,  hemlock  lends  itself  to  almost  every  form  of 
management.  Determination  as  to  which  is  most  advisable 
is  governed  by  its  extremely  variable  manner  of  occurrence 
and  by  the  local  promise  offered  by  associate  species.  The 
foregoing  discussion  can  only  serve  as  suggestive  when  con- 
sidering given  conditions. 

Western  Cedar  {Thuya  plicata) 

Except  for  small  swamp  and  river  bottom  areas,  where  the 
land  is  likely  to  be  more  valuable  for  agriculture  than  for 
forest  culture,  pure  cedar  stands  are  not  common.  Therefore 
it  is  as  a  component  of  mixed  stands  that  cedar  is  likely  to  be- 
come a  problem  in  conservative  management.  To  some  ex- 
tent it  presents  a  peculiar  question  by  being  taken  out  alone 
for  special  purposes,  such  as  poles  and  bolts,  independent  of 
ordinary  logging  of  sawtimber. 

Western  cedar  is  a  typically  shade-bearing  tree  and  also  en- 
dures much  ground  moisture.  Its  occurrence  as  an  under 
story  and  in  swamps  does  not  indicate  that  it  always  requires 
such  conditions,  however,  but  more  often  means  merely  that 
they  protected  it  from  competition  or  from  destruction  by  fire. 
Charred  remains  of  very  large,  fine  cedar  are  often  found  on 
comparatively  dry  slopes  where  fire  has  resulted  in  complete 
occupation  by  fir  at  present.  Cedar's  failure  to  reappear 
there  after  removal  is  probably  because  its  thin  bark  and 
shallow  roots  allowed  its  destruction  by  a  fire  which  was  sur- 
vived by  some  better  protected  fir  seed  trees.  Nevertheless, 
cedar  must  be  classified  as  a  moisture-loving  species  and  occu- 
pies dry  soils  only  in  coast  or  mountain  localities  where  there 
is  a  compensating  heavy  rainfall. 


52  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY  IN 

Reproduction  and  management  of  western  cedar  have  not 
been  sufficiently  studied  to  warrant  very  positive  conclusions. 
This  neglect  is  probably  due  to  a  wide  belief  that  in  spite 
of  its  present  commercial  importance,  its  place  in  the  future 
forest  will  be  small.  It  most  commonly  occurs  with  other 
trees  in  heavy  stands,  which  make  the  preservation  of  any 
young  cedar  difficult  because  of  the  destructiveness  of  log- 
ging. Being  of  comparatively  slow  growth,  also  persistent  in 
retaining  branches  when  grown  in  the  light,  it  is  not  as  prom- 
ising for  artificial  reproduction  as  Douglas  fir  or  white  pine. 
To  let  it  become  old  enough  for  good  shingle  material  will  be 
too  expensive  to  pay,  for  roofing  is  one  of  the  wood  products 
easiest  to  substitute  for.  While  cedar  is  adapted  for  poles, 
posts  and  other  underground  use,  less  decay-resisting  species 
can  be  made  equally  durable  by  chemical  treatment.  In 
other  words,  as  a  second  crop  it  is  probably  below  other 
species  in  ease  of  establishment,  rapidity  and  quantity,  and 
will  not  have  sufficient  peculiar  value  to  compensate  for  con- 
sequent less  economical  use  of  the  ground. 

There  may  be  exceptions  to  this  rule.  Good  young  cedar 
in  forests  which  are  to  be  handled  under  the  selection  system 
should  be  carefully  protected.  It  can  always  be  utilized  and 
may  bring  revenue  before  anything  else  can  be  cut.  For  the 
same  reason  it  has  been  suggested  for  planting  with  fir  and 
white  pine,  either  simultaneously  as  a  small  proportion  or 
later  in  blank  spaces  where  the  others  fail.  Under  such  con- 
ditions the  main  stand  will  not  be  modified  and  the  cedar  will 
afford  a  valuable  adjunct. 

Sitka  Spruce  (Picea  sitcliensis) 

Although  found  in  the  moister  mountain  regions,  this  ex- 
ceedingly valuable  tree  seldom  occurs  to  a  commercially  im- 
portant extent  except  along  the  coast,  where  it  is  common  on 
swales  and  fertile  benches  and  in  river  bottoms  often  forms 
pure  stands  of  great  density.    Yields  of  100,000  feet  an  acre 


THE   PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  53 

are  not  unusual  and  the  trees  are  very  large.  It  is  also  com- 
mon, although  of  small  size,  in  swamps. 

This  spruce  reproduces  readily  in  openings,  whether  made 
by  fire  or  cutting.  Unthrifty  specimens  may  be  found  under 
shade,  but  considerable  light  is  necessary  for  successful  de- 
velopment. Even  then,  height  growth  in  youth  averages 
slower  than  that  of  fir  or  hemlock.  The  leader  shoot  is  likely 
to  die,  so  that  hardly  more  than  25  per  cent  of  the  young 
trees  establish  a  regular  form  of  growth  before  a  height  of 
20  or  30  feet  is  reached.  After  this  stage  spruce  grows  uni- 
formly and  rapidly,  still  somewhat  slower  than  fir  in  height 
but  exceeding  it  in  diameter.  The  branches  are  slow  to  die, 
however,  so  that  the  tree  remains  bushy  for  most  of  its 
length  until  it  reaches  60  or  80  feet  in  height,  and  even  after- 
ward a  dense  stand  is  required  to  clear  it.  In  many  pure 
spruce  forests  the  larger  trees  have  been  able  to  withstand 
the  pruning  influences  and  remain  limby,  while  the  smaller 
ones,  being  pushed  in  height  growth  to  reach  sufficient  light 
for  survival,  have  cleared  themselves  with  remarkable 
rapidity. 

The  natural  occurrence  of  Sitka  spruce,  except  in  Alaska, 
is  probably  limited  chiefly  to  situations  where  it  escapes  com- 
petition, in  youth  at  least,  with  the  more  hardy  and  rapid- 
growing  species.  It  has  the  greatest  advantage  over  these  on 
river  bottoms  and  flats  where  there  is  a  dense  growth  of 
deciduous  brush  and  where  the  soil  is  very  wet  in  spring.  In 
considering  it  as  a  possible  second  crop,  the  same  competition 
must  be  remembered.  Whether  seeding  is  natural  or  arti- 
ficial, the  extent  to  which  it  will  hold  its  own  with  any  consid- 
erable quantity  of  other  species  is  doubtful.  If  such  are  pres- 
ent and  the  situation  is  adapted  to  them,  any  expensive  effort 
to  get  spruce  merely  by  modifying  methods  of  logging  or 
handling  the  slash  is  certainly  likely  to  be  disappointing. 
Under  the  conditions  mentioned  as  peculiarly  favorable  for 
spruce,  gradual  natural  restocking  may  be  expected  if  some 
seed  supply  is  preserved,  but  since  the  growth  is  rather  slow 
and  a  thin  stand  will  remain  limby,  it  may  pay  to  hasten 


54  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

returns  by  supplementary  artificial  planting.  Some  authori- 
ties question  the  financial  practicability  of  this  on  the  ground 
that  since  spruce  is  of  slower  growth  it  will  pay  better  to  use 
the  ground  for  fir,  but  the  latter  is  unlikely  to  be  true  of 
bottom  land. 

After  summing  all  its  advantages,  the  peculiar  merits  of 
spruce  for  certain  purposes  should  be  weighed,  for  suffi- 
ciently higher  stumpage  value  will  compensate  for  delay  in 
harvesting  the  crop.  Moreover,  Sitka  spruce  has  not  been  as 
thoroughly  studied  by  foresters  as  the  more  prominent  West- 
ern trees,  and  while  the  foregoing  notes  represent  general 
present  opinion,  further  figures  on  rate  of  height  growth 
may  be  more  encouraging.  There  is  no  doubt  that  diameter 
increase  is  rapid  from  the  start.  Most  of  the  disadvantages 
mentioned  also  decrease  toward  the  southern  limit  of  the 
spruce  range,  the  growth  on  the  Oregon  Coast  b'eing  rapid. 

Western  Yellow  Pine  (Pinus  ponderosa) 

In  this  species  we  have  the  important  western  conifer  which 
most  often  permits  the  selection  system  of  management. 
With  certain  exceptions  in  which  the  entire  stand  is  mature, 
the  object  of  conservative  logging  should  be  to  remove  trees 
past  the  age  of  rapid  growth  and  foster  those  that  remain 
for  a  later  cut.  When  comprising  the  entire  stand,  or  at 
least  clearly  dominating  it,  with  all  ages  fairly  evenly  repre- 
sented, successful  in  reproduction,  and  not  so  dense  as  to 
present  mechanical  difficulties,  it  is  ideally  adapted  to  this 
form  of  management.  The  important  underlying  principle  is 
that,  since  for  a  period  of  its  life  the  normal  individual  tree 
increases  in  wood  production  and  then  declines,  it  is  bad 
economy  to  cut  it  while  it  is  still  growing  rapidly  or  to  allow 
it,  after  slowing  down,  to  occupy  ground  which  might  be  used 
by  a  tree  still  in  the  vigor  of  production.  For  example,  if  at 
100  years  old  it  contains  500  board  feet,  it  has  averaged  an 
addition  of  5  feet  a  year  throughout  its  life.  If  at  125  years 
old  it  contains  but  560  feet,  the  average  increment  will  be  but 


THE    PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  55 

41/2  feet  a  year.  It  will  not  give  equal  return  for  the  soil, 
moisture  and  light  it  monopolizes  during  these  2o  years.  At 
the  same  time,  probably  there  are  young  trees  nearby  which 
hitherto  have  averaged  below  the  maximum,  but  if  released 
from  its  competition  will  forge  ahead  for  a  period  at  the  end 
of  which  they  will  give  a  greater  annual  return  than  if  cut 
at  present.  It  would  be  as  bad  economy  to  cut  these  today 
as  to  spare  the  over-mature  tree.  In  short,  the  production  of 
the  forest  is  not  only  sustained,  but  actually  increased,  by 
removing  the  oldest  trees  at  just  the  proper  time;  and  is 
decreased  by  taking  out  young  trees  either  not  yet  at  the 
natural  age  of  greatest  mean  annual  increment  or  capable  of 
artificial  stimulation  by  thinning. 

By  studying  the  relation  of  age  to  production  in  the  par- 
ticular locality,  the  proportion  of  different  age  classes,  and 
also  finding  the  approximate  average  diameter  which  corre- 
sponds to  the  age  at  which  he  desires  to  cut,  the  professional 
forester  can  make  a  very  accurate  selection  of  the  trees  which 
ran  be  removed  to  best  advantage  at  present  and  also  fix  the 
time  and  yield  of  the  next  cutting.  Fortunately,  however, 
commercial  and  silvicultural  considerations  accidentally  co- 
incide so  nearly  under  average  yellow  pine  conditions  as  to 
make  certain  rough  rules  which  can  be  laid  down  entirely  con- 
sistent with  logging  methods  now  in  practice.  Diameter  is 
far  from  exact  indication  of  age,  for  the  location  of  the  forest 
and  the  situation  of  the  individual  tree,  especially  as  it  af- 
fects the  relation  between  height  and  diameter  growth,  are 
potent  factors,  but  as  a  rule  merchantability  for  saw-material 
is  not  far  from  maturity. 

In  a  great  majority  of  cases  the  approximate  minimum 
diameter  for  cutting  which  would  be  fixed  by  a  forester  would 
be  somewhere  between  16  and  30  inches,  but  say  it  were  18 
inches,  for  example,  it  would  not  arbitrarily  apply  throughout 
the  stand.  Most  trees  with  yellow,  smooth  bark  and  small 
heavy-limbed  tops,  perhaps  partially  dead,  are  mature  regard- 
less of  their  size.  If  small,  they  have  been  crowded  or  stunted 
and  may  as  well  be  cut.     Trees  with  large,  healthv  crowns 


56  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

composed  of  many  comparatively  small  branches,  and  with 
rough  dark  bark  showing  no  flat  scaling,  are  sure  to  be  grow- 
ing rapidly,  even  if  quite  large.  They  are  also  less  desired 
by  the  lumberman,  who  often  calls  them  black  pine  or  black 
jack,  so  may  often  be  spared,  without  much  sacrifice,  for  seed 
trees  or  in  order  to  continue  their  rapid  wood  production. 

The  seed  tree  problem  in  such  a  pine  forest  and  under  such 
a  system  as  has  been  described  is  comparatively  simple,  for 
there  are  likely  to  be  enough  young  trees  of  fruiting  age  left 
to  fill  up  the  blanks  between  existing  seedlings.  The  density 
of  the  latter  determines  to  a  large  extent  the  number  and 
location  of  seed  trees  necessary,  but  there  should  always  be 
two  to  four  to  the  acre,  even  if  this  requires  leaving  some  that 
would  otherwise  be  logged. 

Under  this  system  recurring  cuts  may  be  made  at  periods  of 
perhaps  30  or  40  years,  taking  out  each  time  the  trees  which 
have  passed  the  minimum  diameter  since  the  last  previous 
cut.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  if  the  process  is  to  continue 
indefinitely,  protection  must  be  absolute.  Destruction  of 
young  growth  will  stop  the  rotation  at  the  time  the  surviving 
older  material  is  harvested.  At  each  cut  the  brush  should  be 
disposed  of  with  this  end  in  view.  If  the  stand  is  very  thin 
it  may  not  add  much  to  the  danger  of  fire  and,  especially  if 
reproduction  is  difficult  and  requires  shelter,  may  best  be  left 
spread  on  the  ground  at  some  distance  from  remaining  trees. 
Otherwise,  and  this  is  the  rule,  it  should  be  piled  and  usually 
burned.  In  this  process  and  in  logging  every  effort  should  be 
made  to  protect  existing  young  growth  from  injury.  Ground 
fires  should  be  prevented  now  and  always  hereafter. 

So  far,  however,  we  have  been  considering  how  to  make  the 
most  of  a  stand  of  many  ages,  due  to  constant  reproduction 
permitted  by  the  light  supply  in  a  fairly  open  forest.  On  the 
other  hand,  yellow  pine  sometimes  produces  a  mature  stand 
so  heavy  that  there  is  little  .young  growth  beneath  it,  or  even 
a  thin  old  stand  with  either  little  reproduction  or  an  invasion 
of  lodge-pole  pine.  Such  conditions  are  usually  due  to  fire 
at  some  period.     In  the  first  of  these  cases,  usually  the  dense 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  57 

stand  has  resulted  from  a  fire  Avhich  destroyed  its  predecessor 
not  so  completely  as  to  remove  the  seed  supply,  but  sufficiently 
to  afford  light  for  a  more  uniformly  dense  crop  of  seedlings 
than  would  occur  in  the  normal  forest.  These  have  been 
thinned  out  as  the  stand  grew  old,  but  never  to  a  degree 
which  allowed  much  reproduction  beneath  them.  The  natural 
cycle  will  be  begun  again  in  time,  for  toward  the  end  of  the 
life  of  this  unusually  heavy  stand,  seedlings  will  begin  to  ap- 
pear gradually  as  individual  old  trees  die  and  admit  more 
and  more  light.  The  other  exceptions  described  are  due  to 
more  recent  ground  fires  which  have  destroyed  only  the  less 
hardy  young  growth  and  perhaps  also  encouraged  the  lodge 
pole  which,  within  its  range,  is  always  quick  to  take  burned 
ground. 

The  same  result  is  almost  sure  to  follow  the  "Indian" 
method  of  forest  protection  sometimes  advocated,  which  con- 
sists of  purposely  running  ground  fires  frequently  in  order  to 
prevent  accumulation  of  sufficient  debris  to  make  an  acci- 
dental fire  fatal  to  timber  of  commercial  size.  While  such 
immunity  may  be  secured,  and  perhaps  without  sacrifice  in 
stands  so  heavy  as  to  have  no  reproduction  or  when  the  latter 
has  already  been  destroyed,  it  is  obviously  at  the  expense  of 
young  growth  if  any  exists.  The  counter  argument  that  a 
small  proportion  escaping  will  be  sufficient  for  the  second 
crop  is  fallacious,  because  good  timber  will  not  be  produced 
from  these  scattering  seedlings  subjected  to  strong  light  by 
later  logging.  Other  means  are  necessary  if  the  forest  is  to 
be  reproduced. 

This  brings  us  to  the  possible  management  of  yellow  pine 
as  an  even-aged  forest.  Thoughtful  foresters  are  beginning 
to  suspect  that  while  the  "Indian"  system  of  fire  protection 
will  usually  be  fatal  if  ordinary  logging  practice  is  followed, 
it  may  serve  as  an  adjunct  to  a  system  which,  if  carefully  ap- 
plied, will  be  better  than  selection  cutting  for  some  of  our 
pine  areas.  This  plan  is  suggested  where  there  is  little  young 
growth  worth  protecting  and  consists  of  depending  upon  seed 
trees  almost  entirely  for  reproduction,  protecting  carefully 


58  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

until  the  resultant  even-aged  second  growth  is  large  enough 
to  stand  slight  fire,  and  then  burning  periodically  at  such  a 
season  and  with  such  safeguards  as  will  prevent  the  fire  from 
being  injuriously  severe. 

Not  only  are  there  many  existing  forests  where  absence  of 
small  trees  will  permit  clean  cutting  without  sacrifice,  but  the 
same  condition  is  likely  to  occur  eventually  in  stands  follow- 
ing selective  logging  if  the  second  cut  is  long  delayed.  Al- 
though a  good  representation  of  all  ages  under  the  diameter 
limit  remains,  the  density  of  this  may  become  too  great  to 
allow  further  reproduction,  and  in  time  the  dominant  trees 
will  shade  out  all  smaller  growth.  To  allow  this  purposely, 
choosing  heavy  cuts  at  intervals  long  enough  to  mature  the 
crop  from  seed  rather  than  frequent  light  cuts  of  a  con- 
stantly replenishing  stand,  thus  reducing  the  necessity  of  fire 
prevention,  is  the  aim  of  those  who  favor  clean  cutting  as  the 
most  practicable  system.  They  assume  that  additional  invest- 
ment in  seed  trees,  or  planting  to  insure  prompt  starting  of  a 
new  crop  after  cutting,  will  be  unnecessary  or  at  least  offset 
by  the  smaller  fire  charge  and  greater  economy  of  logging. 

Theoretically,  such  practice  with  a  species  adapted  to  the 
selective  method  is  uneconomical,  for  the  ground  is  not  fully 
utilized.  Accidental  open  places  in  the  stand  are  not  occu- 
pied by  young  trees  which  would  otherwise  fill  them.  Time  is 
lost  by  not  starting  the  second  crop  until  after  logging,  for 
were  there  no  fire  previously  there  would  be  considerable 
seedling  growth  which,  although  perhaps  dormant  because  of 
shade,  would  begin  to  amount  to  something  much  quicker 
than  that  supplied  by  seed  trees  afterward.  Nor  is  the  sys- 
tem feasible  where  there  is  much  fir  or  other  species  less  fire- 
resisting  than  pine.  It  is  dangerous  in  practice  except  where 
there  is  very  little  combustible  matter  on  the  ground  and  fire 
is  generally  easy  of  control,  and  exceedingly  dangerous  to  ad- 
vocate because  it;  serves  as  a  pretext  and  example  for  indis- 
criminate carelessness  with  fire  under  all  conditions.  Finally, 
the  alleged  immunity  of  pine  from  injury  by  ground  fires  is 
exaggerated.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  while  the  whole  stand  is 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  59 

seldom  perceptibly  hurt,  the  immediate  or  gradual  death  of  a 
good  tree  here  and  there  thins  the  stand  very  considerably  in 
a  few  years  and  it  is  such  a  thinning  process  in  the  past  which 
makes  many  pine  tracts  bear  but  5,000  feet  to  the  acre  where 
otherwise  they  would  yield  two  or  three  times  as  much. 
Scorching  also  retards  the  growth  of  trees  not  actually  in- 
jured otherwise. 

The  technical  objections  given  above  may  sometimes  be 
offset  by  practical  advantages  and  the  system  is  likely  to  re- 
ceive expert  approval  for  certain  conditions  provided  it  is  not 
used  as  a  cloak  without  taking  sincere  steps  to  replace  the 
destroyed  second  growth  by  adequate  seed  trees  or  artificial 
seeding.  The  latter  danger  may  easily  warrant  public  alarm 
manifested  by  restrictive  laws.  Universal  ground  burning  of 
green  timber  will  distinctly  reduce  the  prospect  of  unassisted 
natural  reforestation  on  the  great  area  of  potential  timber 
land  in  which,  as  a  resource,  regardless  of  ownership,  the 
public  is  vitally  interested.  Under  present  conditions  at 
least,  a  large  proportion  of  this  is  likely  to  be  logged  without 
any  view  to  a  future  crop.  It  is  questionable  whether  any 
state  should,  or  will,  legally  approve  ground  burning  except 
under  stipulation  of  proper  management  thereafter. 

Unfortunately,  it  is  necessary,  in  concluding  this  discus- 
sion of  yellow  pine,  to  admit  that  while  an  attempt  has  been 
made  to  outline  the  methods  which  will  insure  a  second  crop, 
the  promise  of  satisfactory  financial  return  is  more  doubtful 
than  that  offered  by  some  other  species.  Compared  with  the 
typical  coast  trees,  such  as  Douglas  fir,  spruce  and  hemlock, 
the  growth  is  slow  and  the  yield  small.  The  chief  circum- 
stances in  its  favor  are  low  land  values,  lesser  fire  risk,  cheap- 
ness and  certainty  of  reproduction  and  excellent  market  pros- 
pects. Less  investment  compensates  somewhat  for  longer 
rotation  and  smaller  yield.  Low  taxation,  however,  is  an  ab- 
solute essential. 


GO  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY   IN 

> 
Western  White  Pine  (P.  moniicola) 

Although  as  a  distinct  forest  type  this  valuable  tree  is  lim- 
ited chiefly  to  Idaho,  it  occurrs  occasionally  in  mixture  or 
small  tracts  over  a  wide  range,  and  no  reason  appears  why 
its  commercial  importance  should  not  be  extended  by  plant- 
ing on  cut-over  lands.  Its  high  value,  rapid  growth  and 
heavy  yield  make  it  a  particularly  promising  species  for 
growing  under  forestry  principles.  Its  chief  requirements 
for  success  are  fairly  good  moist  land,  access  by  the  seed  to 
mineral  soil  and  ample  light  for  the  young  seedlings. ' 

Except  that  it  is  more  fastidious  as  to  soil,  white  pine 
usually  demands  about  the  same  treatment  as  that  pre- 
scribed for  Douglas  fir,  including  clean  cutting,  slash  burn- 
ing and  establishing  a  new  even-aged  stand  by  seed  trees  or 
artificial  restocking.  Under  favorable  conditions  the  stand 
is  nearly  even-aged,  with  little  undergrowth  except  of  unde- 
sirable species.  What  small  pine  may  exist  is  seldom  thrifty 
enough  to  be  worth  saving,  so  the  best  thing  is  to  clean  off 
the  ground  for  the  double  purpose  of  removing  weed  trees  and 
favoring  valuable  reproduction.  Like  that  of  fir,  the  natural 
rotation  of  white  pine  forests  seems  to  have  been  accom- 
plished often  by  the  aid  of  fire,  and  where  not  given  this  aid 
it  suffers  from  lack  of  suitable  seed-bed  and  from  the  competi- 
tion of  other  species  already  established. 

Individual  seed  trees  left  in  logging  are  not  successful  be- 
cause of  shallow  root  system  and  almost  certain  windfall.  Re- 
placement must  be  by  seeding  or  planting,  or  by  leaving 
small  tracts  of  pine  surrounded  by  cleared  fire  lines  to  protect 
them  when  the  slashing  is  burned.  The  size  and  distance 
apart  of  these  must  be  determined  by  their  situation  and  ex- 
posure to  wind,  considering  both  the  danger  of  windfall  and 
the  carrying  of  seed.  Especially  in  younger  growths,  the 
quantity  of  merchantable  material  tied  up  in  this  way  is  not 
so  great  as  is  sometimes  necessary  in  the  case  of  red  fir,  where 
single  seed  trees  may  contain  several  thousand  board  feet. 
On  the  other  hand,  stumpage  value  may  be  high.     For  this 


THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  61 

reason  artificial  replacement  may  often  be  more  profitable, 
especially  where  there  is  reasonable  safety  against  recurring 
fire. 

A  thing  to  be  borne  in  mind  is  that  white  pine  seems  to 
reach  a  healthier  and  better  development  when  mixed  with 
a  small  proportion  of  other  species,  such  as  cedar,  tamarack, 
spruce,  lodgepole  pine  and  Douglas  fir,  so  there  is  no  object 
in  trying  to  produce  an  absolutely  pure  stand.  Some  authori- 
ties think  that  60  per  cent  of  pine,  with  the  rest  helping  to 
prune  it,  is  an  ideal  mixture. 

Lodgepole  Pine  (P.  Murrayana) 

Present  interest  in  private  reproduction  of  this  species 
hardly  warrants  treating  it  at  length  in  this  publication,  al- 
though unquestionably  it  will  eventually  occupy  a  higher 
place  in  the  market  than  at  present  and  its  readiness  to  seize 
burned  land  in  many  regions  will  make  it  a  factor  whether 
desired  or  not.  Where  yellow  piDe  will  grow,  the  problem  is 
most  likely  to  be  to  discourage  lodgepole  competition. 

In  strictly  lodgepole  territoiy,  however,  it  may  be  the  only 
promise  of  a  new  forest.  Generally  speaking,  an  even-aged 
growth  should  be  induced  by  clean  cutting  if  the  entire  crop 
can  .be  utilized.  Slash  burning  in  such  cases  is  desirable. 
The  chief  difficulty  is  in  providing  seed  supply,  for  either  in- 
dividual seed  trees  or  small  groups  are  almost  certain  to  be 
blown  down.  Experiments  so  far  indicate  that  heavy  strips 
must  be  spared,  chosen  to  afford  the  least  present  loss  and 
safeguarded  by  fire  lines. 

In  some  lodgepole  stands,  especially  where  only  certain 
sizes  are  marketable,  the  cutting  practically  amounts  to  thin- 
ning. Here  obviously  the  effort  should  be  to  prevent  over- 
thinning  and  to  remove  debris  with  the  least  damage  to  the 
remaining  stand.    Piling  and  burning  is  essential. 


62  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

Sugar  Pine  (P.  Lambertiana) 

This  extremely  valuable  pine,  commercially  limited  to  the 
Oregon  and  California  mountains,  is  fastidious  in  its  choice 
of  conditions.  Xot  a  frequent  or  prolific  seed  bearer,  it  still 
insists  on  a  moist  loose  seed-bed  and  prefers  the  natural  forest 
floor  to  burned-over  land.  It  cannot  stand  drought  when 
young  and  except  on  cool  northern  slopes  seedlings  may  be 
killed  or  stunted  by  exposure  to  full  sunlight.  On  the  con- 
trary it  demands  more  and  more  light  as  it  grows  older  and 
will  be  suppressed  or  killed  if  unable  to  secure  it.  Under 
natural  conditions  it  perpetuates  itself  best  by  filling  open 
places  in  the  forest. 

For  the  above  reasons,  sugar  pine  is  naturally  a  component 
of  mixed  forests  and  it.  is  doubtful  whether  it  will  be  suc- 
cessfully grown  as  a  pure  stand.  Unfortunately,  also,  log- 
ging methods  which  are  both  the  simplest  and  most  favorable 
to  the  reproduction  of  its  associates  may  be  discouraging  to 
sugar  pine  reproduction.  Nevertheless,  its  value  warrants 
strong  efforts  to  favor  it  and  is  an  argument,  where  consider- 
able young  sugar  pine  exists,  against  either  clean  cutting  or 
the  use  of  fire. 

The  Forest  Service,  for  which  authority  much  of  the  above 
discussion  of  this  species  was  taken,  offers  the  following  gen- 
eral outline  for  management  in  California: 

"Since  the  forests  in  which  sugar  and  yellow  pine  occur  vary 
greatly  in  composition,  the  method  of  treatment  must  also 
vary.  For  this  the  forest  types  already  distinguished  may 
form  a  basis. 

"On  the  lower  portion  of  the  sugar  pine-yellow  pine  type, 
where  sugar  pine  forms  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  stand, 
only  the  yellow  pine  should  be  considered  for  the  future 
forest.  All  merchantable  sugar  pine  may  therefore  be  re- 
moved. It  will  be  necessary  to  leave  only  a  few  seed  trees  of 
yellow  pine  to  restock  the  ground,  although  usually  it  will  be 
a  wiser  policy  to  leave  a  fair  stand,  since  this  can  be  removed 
.is  a  second  cutting  when  reproduction  is  established.     This 


THE    PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  63 

procedure  would  also  hold  for  areas  on  which  yellow  pine 
occurs  in  nearly  pure  stands.  In  these  localities  dense  stands 
of  second-growth  yellow  pine  occur.  It  will  often  be  profit- 
able, where  there  is  a  market  at  hand,  to  thin  these  stands 
when  they  are  about  30  years  old,  removing  the  suppressed 
trees  for  mine  props.  Trees  6,  8  and  10  inches  and  up  are 
used  for  this  purpose,  and  sell  for  from  5  to  6  cents  a  run- 
ning foot. 

"On  the  upper  portion  of  the  sugar  pine-yellow  pine  type, 
where  both  species  have  about  an  equal  representation  in  the 
stand,  seed  trees  of  each  should  be  left,  wherever  practicable, 
in  the  proportion  of  two  sugar  pines  to  one  yellow  pine. 

In  the  fir  belt,  where  sugar  pine  and  fir  are  the  principal 
species,  the  fir  should  be  cut  clean  wherever  possible  and 
sugar  pine  should  be  relied  upon  for  the  future  forest. 

"On  all  lands,  the  Douglas  spruce,  white  fir  and  incense 
cedar  should  be  cut  whenever  possible,  and  chutes,  skidways 
and  bridges  should  be  constructed  from  the  two  last  named 
species." 

The  following  specific  instructions  are  issued  for  marking 
timber  on  National  Forest  sales  in  the  sugar  pine-yellow  pine 
type : 

"Owing  to  the  large  size  of  the  trees,  marking  in  this  type 
of  forest  should  be  done  with  special  care,  since  a  slight  mis- 
take involves  a  comparatively  large  amount  of  timber. 

"On  nearly  all  of  the  lands  included  in  this  type  the 
ground  is  now  but  partly  and  insufficiently  stocked  with 
young  timber,  the  areas  of  forest  are  constantly  becoming 
more  accessible  to  markets,  and  there  is  every  indication  of 
a  strong  future  demand  at  greatly  increased  prices.  On 
nearly  every  tract,  a  second  cut  can  be  made  within  thirty 
years.  All  marking  under  present  sales  should  be  done 
strictly  with  reference  to  two  points : 

"1.  Stocking  the  cut-over  land  as  fully  as  possible  with 
sugar  and  yellow  pine. 

"2.  Securing  a  second  cut  within  thirty  years. 

"AH  cutting  should  be  done  under  the  'selection  system,' 


64  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

which  requires  a  careful  choice  of  the  individual  trees  to  be 
removed.  Fixed  diameter  limits  and  the  leaving  of  any 
specified  number  of  seed  trees  per  acre  can  be  very  largely 
disregarded. 

"The  condition  of  every  sugar  and  yellow  pine  on  the  sale 
area  should  be  studied  closely  to  determine  whether  that  tree 
will  be  merchantable  thirty  years  hence,  by  which  time  a 
second  cut  is  probable.  As  a  rule  the  trees  which  will  remain 
merchantable  for  another  thirty  years  should  be  left.  Sup- 
pressed and  crowded  trees  which  cannot  develop  should  be 
removed.  Under  this  system  of  marking,  ordinarily  about 
one-half  of  the  present  stand  of  merchantable  pine  would  be 
left  uncut.    Will  it  pay  ? 

"On  areas  where  practically  all  of  the  pine  is  over-matured 
and  would  be  cut  under  the  rule  given  above,  a  sufficient 
stand  must  be  left  to  reseed  thoroughly  the  cut-over  land. 
This  requires  not  less  than  four  full  seed-bearing  trees,  at 
least  25  inches  in  diameter,  per  acre.  The  strongest  and 
thriftiest  trees  available  should  be  selected  for  this  purpose, 
but  not  less  than  the  number  specified  must  be  left  even  if 
every  tree  will  be  a  total  loss  before  a  second  cut  is  possible. 

"Extensive  areas  of  pine  timber  which  are  not  yet  fully 
mature  should  be  excluded  from  the  sale.  On  patches  or  small 
areas  of  immature  pine,  which  it  is  not  practicable  to  ex- 
clude from  the  sale,  cutting  should  be  very  light,  limited  to 
one-third  or  less  of  the  largest  trees,  or  omitted  altogether. 

"No  attempt  to  discriminate  sharply  between  sugar  and 
yellow  pine  should  be  made,  as  both  trees  are  almost  equally 
desirable.  Where  a  choice  is  necessary,  sugar  pine  should  be 
favored  on  moist  situations,  as  in  canyons,  moist  pockets,  or 
benches  and  on  northerly  exposures.  Yellow  pine  should  be 
favored  on  dry  situations,  including  exposed  ridges  and 
southern  exposures. 

"Fir  and  incense  cedar  should  be  marked,  as  a  rule,  to  as 
low  a  diameter  as  these  trees  are  merchantable  in  order  to  re- 
duce the  proportion  of  these  species  in  coming  reproduction. 
It  is  essential,  however,  that  no  large  openings  be  made  in 


THE    PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  65 

the  present  stand  since  the  exposed  ground  is  in  danger  of 
reverting  to  chaparral  or  of  becoming  so  dry  from  evapora- 
tion that  no  reproduction  will  follow  cutting.  Where  the 
stand  of  pine  is  insufficient  to  reseed  thoroughly  and  protect 
the  cut-over  area,  enough  sound,  thrifty  fir  and  cedar  should 
be  left  to  form  a  fairly  even  cover  with  openings  less  than  a 
quarter  of  an  acre  in  size."' 

The  under  current  of  all  opinion  upon  sugar  pine  up  to 
date  is  that  reproduction  will  not  be  very  successful  unless 
enough  growth  to  shelter  the  seedlings  remains  after  log- 
ging. Where  the  fire  risk  permits,  the  same  end  may  be 
furthered  by  leaving  the  tops  scattered  on  the  ground. 

Little  experimenting  has  been  done  in  planting  sugar  pine, 
but  there  are  many  indications  that  except  where  conditions 
strongly  favor  natural  reproduction  it  will  be  resorted  to 
eventually  if  any  particular  attempt  is  made  to  get  this 
species.  Leaving  large  seed  trees  is  not  only  expensive,  but 
rather  uncertain,  because  heavy  seed  years  are  several  years 
apart  and  squirrels  consume  a  large  portion  of  an  ordinary 
crop.  Transplants  which  have  received  nursery  shelter  until 
past  the  greatest  danger  of  drying  out  should  prove  most 
successful  on  heavily-cut  south  slopes. 

Redwood  (Sequoia  sempervirens) 

Although  probably  the  most  rapid-growing  of  all  American 
commercial  trees  and  also  of  high  market  standing,  redwood 
has  been  little  studied  by  foresters.  The  layman  is  still  more 
confused  by  its  many  peculiarities.  Growing  to  a  size  of  20 
feet  in  diameter  and  350  feet  high,  reaching  an  age  of  well 
over  1,000  years  and  seldom  reproducing  by  means  of  seed,  it 
is  not  surprising  that  it  was  long  regarded  as  ill-adapted  to 
second  crop  management.  Although  observing  that  suckers 
sprout  from  the  stumps  with  great  rapidity,  the  lumberman 
generally  regarded  these  mushroom  growths  as  abnormal  and 
temporary,  and  believed  his  virgin  timber  to  be  the  finally- 


66  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

vanishing  remnant  of  a  prehistoric  species  unsnited  to  pres- 
ent-day conditions. 

It  was  next  discovered  that  the  suckering  habit  is  no  new 
one,  indeed  that  the  majority  of  the  present  stand,  however 
old,  began  as  sprouts  from  roots  or  stumps  of  its  predecessors. 
This  is  evident  from  the  circular  arrangement  of  several 
trees  around  the  spot  where  their  parent  stood.  These  old 
sprouts  were  of  very  slow  growth,  for  they  were  shaded  by  a 
forest  of  extreme  density.  As  seedlings  they  could  have 
neither  germinated  nor  grown,  but  as  suckers  they  were 
kept  alive  by  the  parent  until  light  supply  became  available 
through  their  increasing  height  or  through  thinning  of  the 
forest.  Under  such  conditions  centuries  were  required  to 
produce  large  trees. 

The  owner  of  today,  by  cutting  down  the  old  stand,  gives 
the  suckers  conditions  hitherto  unknown  to  the  redwood.  The 
vigor  and  susceptibility  to  the  aid  of  light,  which  originally 
was  necessary  in  the  sprout  growth  to  perpetuate  the  species 
at  all,  now  respond  to  entire  freedom  and  light  in  an  aston- 
ishing manner.  Even  after  severe  slashing  fires  char  the 
stumps,  the  latter  throw  out  clusters  of  sprouts  which  grow 
several  feet  a  year.  Logging  works  30  or  40  years  old  have 
come  up  to  trees  nearly  100  feet  high.  Naturally  such  tim- 
ber has  a  heavy  percentage  of  sapwood  and  is  soft  and  brittle, 
but  it  is  already  suitable  for  piling,  box  lumber  and  like 
purposes  and  improves  constantly. 

Since  reproduction  by  seed  does  not  enter  into  the  prob- 
lem, financial  possibilities  depend  almost  wholly  on  the  na- 
ture of  the  original  stand.  There  are  many  types  of  redwood 
forest,  pure  and  mixed,  flat  and  slope.  If  the  old  trees  are 
few  to  the  acre,  the  sprout  clusters  will  be  so  far  apart  that 
excess  of  side  light  will  produce  clumps  of  swell-butted,  short 
limby  trees,  of  little  use  for  lumber;  that  is,  unless  there  is 
also  a  seedling  growth  of  fir  or  other  species  to  fill  the 
blanks  and  bring  up  the  density.  Where  such  a  nurse 
growth  is  to  be  counted  on,  or  where  the  redwood  trees  are 


.      THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  67 

small  and  close  together,  ideal  conditions  for  a  certain,  rapid 
and  well  formed  second  crop  exist. 

The  thinner  the  original  redwood  stand,  the  greater  the 
effort  necessary  at  the  time  of  logging  to  obtain  the  required 
density.  The  leaving  of  seed  trees  of  other  species,  with  as 
many  as  possible  small  trees  of  both  redwood  and  other  spe- 
cies and  the  maximum  protection  of  all  from  fire,  should  then 
be  the  means  employed.  On  some  tracts  the  proportion  of 
redwood  will  not  warrant  this  effort;  on  some  it  is  not  even 
required.  The  question  of  whether  it  pays  to  hold  redwood 
land  is  therefore  almost  wholly  local,  but  when  conditions  are 
favorable  it  can  be  answered  affirmatively,  because  of  the  ex- 
tremely rapid  growth,  with  less  doubt  than  of  almost  any 
other  species. 

There  is  some  tendency  to  over-production  of  sprouts  by 
redwood  stumps.  Removal  of  the  excess  with  an  ax,  saving 
those  closest  to  the  ground  and  not  over-thinning  to  the  ex- 
tent of  reducing  the  density  conducive  to  height  growth  and 
shedding  of  low  branches,  improves  the  chances  of  those 
remaining. 

SEEDING  AND  PLANTING 

Seed  Supply 

It  has  been  shown  in  a  previous  chapter  that  the  owner  of 
deforested  land  who  desires  to  secure  a  second  crop  may 
find  it  necessary  or  cheaper  to  adopt  artificial  measures  wholly 
or  in  part  instead  of  depending  upon  natural  reproduction. 
These  measures  may  be  of  two  kinds — direct  seeding,  in 
which  the  seed  is  sown  where  the  trees  are  to  stand  perma- 
nently, and  the  planting  of  trees  grown  in  nurseries. 

Whether  artificial  reforestation  is  accomplished  by  means 
of  sowing  seed  or  planting  trees,  the  first  requisite  is  a  sup- 
ply of  tree  seed  of  the  desired  species  and  of  good  quality. 
Unfortunately  for  the  timber  owner  who  wishes  to  enter 
upon  extensive  seeding  operations,  the  business  of  collecting 
and  preparing  forest  tree  seed  for  market  has  received  but 


68  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

little  attention  from  old-established  seed  firms,  and  it  is  not 
always  possible  to  purchase  the  species  and  quantity  desired. 
Moreover,  the  prices  charged  are  often  excessive. 

In  the  Pacific  Northwest,  however,  the  demand  for  seed  of 
Douglas  fir  and  Sitka  spruce  has  led  to  the  establishment  of 
a  considerable  trade  in  these  species,  and  at  reasonable  prices, 
so  that  where  these  species  are  to  be  used,  or  only  small 
quantities  of  other  species,  the  timber  owner  will  probably 
find  it  to  his  advantage  to  purchase  the  seed  rather  than  to 
attempt  collecting  it  himself.  Douglas  fir  seed  is  quoted  at 
$1.40  to  $2.00  per  pound  and  Sitka  spruce  seed  at  $2.25  to 
$3.00. 

In  purchasing  seed  it  is  common  practice  to  specify  that  it 
shall  be  of  the  new  crop,  because  tree  seed  kept  in  ordinary 
storage  loses  its  vitality  materially.  When  properly  stored  in 
air-tight  receptacles,  however,  as  is  now  done  by  some  seed 
dealers,  it  will  retain  its  germinative  power  for  several  years 
with  only  slight  depreciation.  Moreover,  fresh  seed,  if  im- 
properly treated,  may  be  of  very  poor  quality,  so  that  the  age 
of  the  seed  is  of  little  value  in  the  determination  of  its 
worth  and  the  only  sure  method  of  ascertaining  this  is  by 
means  of  germination  or  cutting  tests.  The  latter  method  is 
the  quickest  and  most  simple  and  consists  of  cutting  open  a 
number  of  the  seeds  and  ascertaining  the  per  cent  whose 
kernel  is  sound,  plump  and  moist.  Seed  of  good  average 
quality  should  contain  not  more  than  25-30  per  cent  of  infer- 
tile seed. 

When  seed  cannot  be  purchased,  it  is  necessary  to  collect. 
Since  no  species  of  coniferous  trees  bear  abundant  crops  of 
seed  each  year  and  often  several  seasons  will  elapse  between 
good  crops,  it  is  necessary  to  gather  sufficient  seed  when  the 
supply  is  abundant  to  provide  for  succeeding  years  when  the 
crop  is  apt  to  be  a  failure. 

The  seed  ripens  in  the  fall,  usually  during  August  or  Sep- 
tember, and  the  cones  should  be  collected  at  that  time.  Pines 
require  two  years  in  which  to  mature  the  seed;  that  is,  the 
cones  are  not  fully  formed  and  the  seed  ripe  until  the  second 


THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  09 

fall  after  the  fertilization  of  the  flowers  in  the  spring.  Most 
of  the  other  important  conifers  ripen  their  seed  in  the  fall  of 
the  same  season.  Shortly  after  the  seed  is  ripe,  the  cones 
open  and  allow  it  to  disseminate,  consequently  they  must  be 
gathered  before  this  occurs. 

The  cones  are  gathered  either  by  climbing  the  trees  and 
cutting  them  off  from  the  branches,  by  picking  from  the  tops 
of  felled  trees,  or  by  robbing  squirrels'  hoards.  Where  squir- 
rels are  abundant  in  the  forest,  the  last  method  is  the  cheap- 
est. Climbing  trees  is  practiced  only  where  the  trees  are 
small.  When  this  method  is  employed,  the  workmen  should 
be  equipped  with  linemen's  belts  and  climbers.  Picking  from 
felled  trees  is  readily  carried  on  except  where  dense  under- 
brush interferes,  as  is  the  case  in  the  ordinary  Douglas  fir 
forest. 

Trees  growing  in  the  open,  with  large  crowns  extending 
down  the  greater  part  of  the  bole,  bear  cones  more  abundantly 
than  trees  in  dense  forests,  and  for  this  reason  collecting 
from  scattered  open  growths  can  be  done  more  cheaply  than 
on  logging  areas.  Often  large  quantities  of  cones  can  be  pur- 
chased from  settlers  who  will  collect  and  deliver  them  at  cen- 
tral points  at  a  stipulated  price.  When  this  method  is  em- 
ployed, however,  frequent  examination  of  the  cones  should  be 
made  to  ascertain  that  they  contain  the  full  number  of  seed, 
for  often  opened  cones  from  which  a  part  or  all  of  the  seed 
has  been  disseminated  will  be  offered  for  sale.  Insect  larvae 
also  often  destroy  a  large  proportion  of  the  seed,  particularly 
when  the  crop  is  light  and  care  should  be  taken  that  the  cones 
purchased  are  not  infested.  The  prices  paid  for  cones  vary 
from  25  cents  to  50  cents  per  sack  for  the  larger  cones,  like 
yellow  and  white  pine,  and  50  cents  to  $1.00  for  Douglas  fir 
and  spruce,  depending  upon  the  abundance  of  the  crop. 

After  the  cones  are  gathered  the  seed  must  be  extracted 
and  cleaned.  Where  climatic  conditions  in  the  fall  of  the  year 
will  permit  air-drying,  the  cones  may  be  spread  out  on  sheets 
or  blankets  where  they  will  be  exposed  to  the  sun  and  wind. 
Under  this  treatment  they  will  open  in  from  3  to  6  days, 


70  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

depending  upon  the  weather  and  the  species.  Where  bad 
weather  will  interfere  with  air-drying,  the  cones  must  be 
dried  under  cover  by  artificial  heat.  This  is  the  method 
usually  employed  by  professional  seed  collectors;,  and  where 
large  quantities  of  cones  are  to  be  treated  each  year  special 
dry  houses  are  constructed  and  fitted  with  elaborate  drying 
apparatus.  The  work  can  be  done  most  cheaply  with  such  an 
establishment,  but  for  the  ordinary  timber  owner  who  expects 
to  collect  seed  only  occasionally,  a  makeshift  dry-house  which 
will  answer  the  purpose  can  be  fitted  up  inexpensively  in  any 
unused  building.  The  essential  features  are  shelves  or 
trays  4  feet  wide  arranged  around  the  walls  of  the  room,  one 
above  the  other  and  separated  about  8  inches  apart,  and  a 
heating  stove  placed  in  the  center  of  the  room.  The  shelves 
may  be  made  of  burlap  stretched  tight,  or,  better  still,  of 
wire  screening  of  l^-inch  or  %-inch  mesh. 

After  being  subjected  to  a  temperature  not  exceeding  110° 
Fahr.  for  from  24  to  48  hours,  the  cones  will  open,  allowing 
the  seed  to  fall  out  when  shaken  or  pounded.  The  seed  when 
separated  from  the  cones  is  then  mixed  with  a  coarse  gravel 
in  about  the  proportion  of  4  to  1  and  churned  to  remove  the 
wings.  Finally,  all  foreign  matter  is  removed  by  screening 
and  hollow  seed  blown  out  by  passing  it  through  an  ordinary 
fanning  mill. 

Seeding  Versus  Planting 

The  selection  of  the  method  of  reforestation  to  employ, 
whether  direct  seeding  or  planting,  depends  primarily  upon 
the  character  of  the  area  to  be  restocked.  Direct  seeding  is 
usually  considerably  cheaper  ■  when  the  results  are  satisfac- 
tory, but  only  on  the  more  favorable  sites  where  moisture  and 
soil  conditions  are  right  is  there  any  assurance  of  success. 
Even  in  such  cases  partial  or  total  destruction  of  the  seed 
often  results  from  birds  and  rodents.  In  exposed  situations 
where  the  soil  is  shallow,  or  where  because  of  climatic  con- 
ditions soil  dries  out  several  inches  deep  during  the  grow- 


THE    PACIFIC    NORTHWEST  ?1 

ing  season,  the  seed  may  not  germinate  at  all,  or  the  young 
seedlings  may  be  killed  before  they  have  time  to  send  their 
roots  down  to  the  permanent  moisture  level.  In  such  situa- 
tions, planting  is  the  only  reliable  method.  If  the  plant  ma- 
terial is  of  the  proper  kind  and  the  work  well  done,  satisfac- 
tory results  are  almost  certain  to  follow.  Direct  seeding  is  a 
much  more  rapid  method  than  planting,  and  where  extensive 
areas  are  to  be  restocked  within  a  short  period  and  seed  is 
abundant,  the  work  can  be  completed  quickly.  On  the  other 
hand,  this  method  is  wasteful  of  seed  because  a  large  propor- 
tion fails  to  germinate  and  the  young  seedlings  often  suc- 
cumb to  adverse  conditions,  so  that  where  seed  is  scarce  or  its 
cost  high,  planting  is  the  more  practical  method. 

Because  planting  is  the  most  reliable  method  it  has  been 
the  one  most  largely  employed  in  extensive  operations,  both 
here  and  in  most  European  countries,  but  thorough  tests  are 
now  being  made  of  direct  seeding  and  under  proper  condi- 
tions it  promises  to  be  fairly  satisfactory.  The  Douglas  fir 
region  west  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  offers  the  most  favor- 
able conditions  for  direct  seeding  and  except  on  badly  exposed 
south  slopes,  or  where  the  growth  of  brush  is  exceedingly 
dense,  it  is  believed  this  method  will  prove  a  satisfactory  one 
for  the  timber  owner  to  employ. 

In  the  yellow  pine  regions  conditions  are  not  so  satisfactory 
for  direct  seeding,  since  this  tree  occurs  largely  in  a  region  of 
deficient  rainfall.  However,  natural  reproduction  is  abun- 
dant throughout  many  portions  of  this  type,  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  direct  seeding  will  prove  fairly  successful  if  the 
proper  methods  are  employed  and  if  forest  conditions  have 
not  been  too  greatly  disturbed.  That  some  method  of  suc- 
cessfully employing  direct  seeding  with  yellow  pine  be  found 
is  greatly  to  be  desired,  since  yellow  pine  seedlings  do  not 
withstand  transplanting  well,  but  there  is  need  for  careful 
experimentation  before  extensive  seeding  operations  in  this 
type  by  private  timber  owners  would  be  justifiable. 

Western  white  pine,  it  is  believed,  will  be  easy  to  repro- 
duce in  most  of  its  native  situations  by  direct  seeding,  though 


72  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

the  greater  scarcity  of  its  seed  and  the  fact  that  it  will  be 
more  subject  to  destruction  by  birds  and  rodents  because  of 
its  larger  size  may  make  planting  the  more  practical  method. 

Trees  for  planting  can  either  be  purchased  from  commer- 
cial nurserymen  or  grown  in  nurseries  established  for  that 
purpose  near  the  planting  site.  When  only  a  few  thousand 
trees  are  needed  it  is  cheaper  to  purchase  them,  but  when  ex- 
tensive operations  are  contemplated,  covering  hundreds  of 
acres  in  which  millions  of  trees  will  be  needed,  it  is  far  prefer- 
able for  the  owner  to  grow  the  trees  in  his  own  nursery.  Some 
initial  outlay  for  the  establishment  of  the  nursery  will  be 
necessary  and  a  practical  nurseryman  should  be  employed, 
hut  the  saving  in  the  cost  of  the  trees  will  fully  compensate 
for  these. 

One,  two  and  three  year  old  trees,  the  latter  once  trans- 
planted, are  usually  employed  in  planting,  the  older  trees  be- 
ing used  for  the  less  favorable  sites.  In  planting  they  are 
placed  in  rows  equidistant  apart,  the  spacing  varying  from  4 
to  12  feet,  with  a  general  average  of  about  6  feet.  The  work 
may  be  done  either  in  the  fall  after  growth  has  ceased  or  in 
the  spring  before  growth  commences. 

The  cost  of  planting,  of  course,  will  vary  greatly  with  the 
age  of  the  trees,  the  number  planted  per  acre  and  the  accessi- 
bility and  character  of  the  planting  site.  With  young  trees 
and  wide  spacing,  the  cost  may  be  as  low  as  $6.00  per  acre, 
while  in  more  unfavorable  situations  where  older  plants  are 
used  and  planting  is  more  laborious  it  may  be  as  high  as 
$16.00.  A  fair  average,  however,  for  those  areas  which  a 
timber  owner  would  be  most  likely  to  plant  up  is  about  $8.00 
to  $10.00  per  acre. 

In  direct  seeding,  several  different  methods  may  be  em- 
ployed, such  as  broadcasting  over  the  entire  area  with  or 
without  previous  preparation  of  the  soil,  sowing  in  strips,  or 
sowing  in  seed  spots;  but  observation  and  experiment  have 
shown  that  it  is  necessary  for  seed  such  as  Douglas  fir,  yellow 
pine  and  western  white  pine  to  come  in  close  contact  with 
the  mineral  soil  in  order  that  it  may  germinate  and  the  seed- 


THE    PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  ?3 

lings  live;  consequently  only  those  methods  should  he  used 
which  will  accomplish  this.  Where  the  area  has  been  burned 
over  previous  to  sowing  and  the  mineral  soil  laid  bare,  broad- 
cast seeding  may  be  employed.  Where  the  ground  will  permit 
the  use  of  a  harrow  good  results  are  obtainable  by  scarifying 
the  soil  in  strips  about  10  feet  apart  and  sowing  the  seed  in 
these  strips.  On  unburned  areas  covered  with  a  dense  growth 
of  fern,  salal,  moss,  grass,  or  other  plants,  this  covering  must 
be  removed  by  the  seed  spot  method.  This  consists  in  remov- 
ing the  ground  cover  with  a  grub  hoe  or  mattock  in  spots  of 
varying  diameter  (6  inches  to  3  feet)  and  of  various  dis- 
tances apart  (6  to  15  feet),  and  sowing  the  seed  in  these 
spots.  The  advantages  of  this  method  are  that  a  minimum 
amount  of  seed  is  used;  the  ground  can  be  prepared  and  the 
seed  covered  to  whatever  extent  is  desirable,  and  the  soil 
pressed  down.  This  method  is  believed  to  be  the  one  best 
suited  to  the  greatest  variety  of  sites. 

The  amount  of  seed  used  per  acre  will,  of  course,  vary  with 
the  species  and  the  method  used,  and  the  quality  of  the  seed. 
The  following  table  indicates  the  approximate  quantity  of 
seed  of  good  average  quality  required  per  acre  for  three  dif- 
ferent methods,  the  average  cost  when  collected  in  fairly 
large  quantities,  and  the  number  of  seed  per  pound: 

No.  pounds  required  per  acre. 

No.  seed    Cost  per    Broadcast,  Seedspots 

Species.  per  lb.       pound,   entire  area.   Strips.     0'  apart. 

Douglas  fir 42,000         $1.50  2-3  %-l  %-% 

Yellow  pine   8,000  .50  10-12  2     -2%      l%-2 

Western  white  pine 14,000  .75  6-8         1V£-1%      1     -1% 

The  total  cost,  too,  will  vary  widely,  not  only  because  of 
the  different  quantities  of  seed  used  but  also  because  of  the 
great  extent  to  which  the  methods  are  varied  to  suit  the  con- 
ditions occurring  upon  the  area.  Simple  broadcasting  with- 
out any  preparation  or  treatment  of  the  soil  will  not  exceed 
20  cents  to  25  cents  per  acre  for  labor;  harrowing  and  sowing 
in  strips,  85  cents  to  $1.10  per  acre,  and  sowing  in  seedspots, 


74  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

$2.00  to  $5.00  per  acre.     Upon  this  basis  the  total  cost  per 
acre  will  approximate  the  figures  given  in  the  table  below: 

Broadcast  over  Seedspots. 

Species.                                                   entire  area.              Strips.  C  apart. 

Douglas   fir    $3.20-4.75              $1.60-2.G0  $2.75-6.00 

Yellow  pine • 5.20-6.25                 1.S5-2.35  2.75-6.00 

Western  white  pine 4.70-6.25                2.00-2.40  U.75-6.00 


KATE  OF  GROWTH  AND  PROBABLE  RETURNS 

Of  all  factors  in  calculating  the  financial  possibilities  of 
second  forest  crops,  the  growth  to  be  expected  is  the  easiest 
to  determine  with  fair  accuracy.  Future  stumpage  value,  tax 
burden-  and  fire  risk  are  all  subject  to  uncertain  influences, 
but  .the  approximate  yield  of  a  given  species  under  given 
natural  conditions  will  be  the  same  in  the  future  that  it  is 
now.  To  predict  it  requires  only  study  of  existing  stands 
without  being  misled  by  the  influence  of  conditions  which 
will  not  be  repeated. 

On  the  other  hand,  an  immense  amount  of  misinformation 
is  circulated  because  of  superficial  observation.  Enthusiasts 
discovering  individual  trees  which  have  made  prodigious 
growth,  or  even  fairly  extensive  stands  on  fertile  soil  with 
heavy  rainfall,  will  compute  sawlog  yields  at  40  or  50  years 
which  are  much  too  optimistic  for  general  application.  Others, 
remembering  some  stand  they  have  seen  in  unfavorable  locali- 
ties, or  noting  shade-suppressed  trees  which  will  not  be  paral- 
leled after  the  virgin  forest  is  removed,  are  unduly  discour- 
aged. It  is  most  essential  that  yield  tables  be  made  by  trained 
observers  who  know  how  to  reach  the  true  average,  and  that 
the  figures  either  actually  come  from  the  region  to  which 
they  are  to  be  applied  or  are  accompanied  by  a  systematic 
analysis  of  climatic  and  other  conditions  which  permits  in- 
telligent comparison. 

Tn  calculating  another  yield  on  cut-over  land,  the  system 
for  an  even-aged  new  growth,  such  as  will  follow  clean  cut- 
ting of  Douglas  fir,  for  example,  is  quite  different  from  that 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  75 

necessary  if  the  cutting  amounts  only  to  selection  of  the  mer- 
chantable trees  and  leaves  a  fair  stand  of  smaller  ones.  In 
the  latter  ease,  yield  tables  based  on  average  acreage  produc- 
tion are  of  little  use  because  so  much  depends  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  stand  which  remains  on  the  tract  in  question. 
Here  the  basis  must  be  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  average  indi- 
vidual tree.  An  estimate  by  the  number  in  each  present 
diameter  class  may  be  made  of  the  trees  which  will  escape 
logging,  showing,  let  us  say  for  example,  about  five  trees  of 
each  diameter  from  G  to  12  inches,  or  thirty-five  in  all  which 
are  over  6  inches.  If  the  growth  study  indicates  that  in  20 
years  there  will  have  been  added  6  inches  in  diameter  we  can 
estimate  a  crop  of  five  trees  each  of  classes  extending  from  12 
to  18  inches.  Actually  the  process  will  not  be  so  simple,  for 
the  different  aged  trees  will  not  grow  with  equal  rapidity, 
and  several  other  factors  must  be  reckoned  with,  but  the  gen- 
eral- principle  is  to  apply  rate  of  growth  knowledge  to  the 
material  on  hand,  and  study  of  this  material  is  essential. 

For  predicting  even-aged  crops  resulting  from  entire  re- 
stocking, the  acquisition  of  necessary  basic  information  is  as 
difficult,  or  more  so.  but  its  application  is  far  simpler.  That 
the  ground  will  be  fully  stocked  by  natural  or  artificial  means 
must  be  assumed,  but  we  can  also  assume  that  the  result  will 
be  influenced  only  by  normal  locality  conditions  and  not  by 
accidental  condition  of  the  present  forest.  Therefore  we  use 
a  yield  table  and  not  a  growth  table.  This  can  be  made  by 
actual  measurement  of  existing  second  growth  stands  of  dif- 
ferent ages,  which  proves  not  only  the  growth  rate  but  also 
the  number  of  trees  which  the  natural  shade-thinning  process 
results  in  at  different  periods  of  the  forest  life.  The  chief 
danger  of  inaccuracy  in  such  information  lies  in  basing  it  on 
insufficient  measurements  or  in  applying  it  where  soil  or 
moisture  conditions  are  greatly  different.  The  latter  error 
can  be  guarded  against,  however,  by  use  of  growth  figures 
taken  in  conjunction  with  it.  For  example,  if  a  yield  table 
showing  25,000  feet  to  the  acre  at  50  years  from  seed  is  ac- 
companied by  one  showing  that  the  average  stand  it  repre- 


76  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

sents  is  125  high  at  50  years  and  its  average  50-y ear-tree  is 
14  inches  in  diameter,  little  investigation  is  necessary  to 
determine  whether  in  any  given  locality  the  growth  falls  far 
above  or  below  that. 

An  attempt  to  reproduce  here  any  considerable  number 
of  growth  and  yield  tables  would  be  of  doubtful  use  without 
more  space  than  is  allowed  to  explain  how  they  are  made  and 
used.  There  are  many  technicalities,  both  mathematical  and 
silvicultural,  and  unfortunately  most  of  the  available  figures 
for  the  Northwest,  obtained  by  the  Forest  Service,  have  not 
been  generalized  enough  for  wide  popular  value.  This  is  par- 
ticularly true  of  yield  tables  which  necessarily  require  assum- 
ing standards  of  merchantability.  While  the  best  western 
white  pine  table  assumes  that  by  the  time  a  new  crop  is  cut 
7-inch  white  pine  will  be  salable,  the  best  fir  table  was  worked 
upon  a  12-inch  diameter  basis.  Obviously  this  would  show 
an  unfairly  greater  yield  of  a  pine  forest  containing  trees 
between  7  and  12  inches  and  be  very  misleading  in  calculat- 
ing financial  results  at  the  same  age  and  stumpage  rates;  yet 
without  the  original  data  there  is  no  way  of  reducing  both 
tallies  to  the  same  basis.  As  an  example,  however,  to  indicate 
how  the  financial  possibilities  of  second  growth  can  be  arrived 
at  if  a  systematic  study  is  made,  let  us  take  the  Douglas  fir 
figures  referred  to. 

Douglas  Fir 

These  are  exceedingly  reliable.  Measurements  were  taken 
by  the  Forest  Service  of  practically  pure  fir  on  about  400 
areas  in  thirty-five  different  age  stands  from  10  to  140  years 
old,  ranging  along  the  western  Cascade  foothills  from  the 
Canadian  line  to  central  Oregon.  Since  reforestation  invest- 
ment is  likely  to  be  confined  mainly  to  the  more  promising 
opportunities,  only  such  growth  was  measured  as  gave  an 
average  representation  of  the  better  class  of  the  two  should 
all  the  general  territory  covered  be  graded  in  two  quality 
classes  of  all  around  ability  to  produce  forests.    On  the  other 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST 


77 


hand,  care  was  taken  not  to  represent  the  maximum  of  the 
better  class,  data  being  taken  only  from  permanent  forest 
land  and  not  from  rich  potential  agricultural  land  which 
might  show  unfairly  rapid  forest  growth.  The  average  areas 
were  actually  measured  and  the  number,  age,  form,  diameter 
growth,  height  growth,  board  foot  contents,  etc.,  of  all  the 
trees  on  them  were  accurately  determined.  Trees  12  inches 
in  diameter  4!/2  feet  from  the  ground  were  considered  mer- 
chantable, and  it  was  assumed  they  could  be  used  to  8  inches 
in  the  top.  From  this  data  were  prepared  tables  and  dia 
grams  showing  the  average  development  of  trees  and  stands 
under  fairly  favorable  conditions  in  the  region  west  of  the 
Cascades. 

This  gave  the  following  yield  per  acre : 


of  Stand. 

Feet,  B.  M. 

40 

12,400 

50 

28,000 

60 

41,000 

70 

51,700 

80 

61,100 

Age  of  Stand. 
90 
100 
110 
120 
130 


Feet,  B.  M. 

70,200 

79,800 

90,300 

101,500 

113.000 


Let  us  see  how  these  figures  can  be  used  in  answering  the 
primary  question  of  the  prospective  timber-grower:  "Will  it 
pay  to  hold  my  cut-over  land  for  a  second  crop  ?" 

Obviously  no  certain  answer  can  be  printed  here,  not  only 
because  no  uniform  stumpage  prices  or  carrying  charges  can 
be  predicted  but  also  because  individuals  may  differ  as  to 
what  profit  is  necessary  to  make  the  investment  "pay,"  so  it 
will  be  necessary  to  analyze  the  situation  so  each  may  select 
the  premises  which  suit  his  own  case  and  judgment.  The 
investment  made  by  the  holder  of  cut-over  land  is  of  two 
kinds ;  that  represented  by  the  land  which  otherwise  he  might 
sell,  putting  the  proceeds  at  work  in  some  other  business,  and 
the  annual  carrying  charges  which  otherwise  he  might  also 
invest  differently.  The  sum  obtainable  by  investing  the 
money  available  by  sale  after  logging,  adding  to  it  yearly  the 
sum  required  for  fire  prevention  and  taxes,  and  compounding 
both  at  a  satisfactory  interest  for  the  entire  period,  is  prac- 


78  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY  IN 

tically  the  cost  of  holding  the  tract  for  any  given  number  of 
years.  By  calculating  this  cost  upon  a  basis  of  one  acre,  and 
dividing  it  by  the  yield  board  measure  which  the  same  period 
will  produce,  the  cost  per  thousand  feet  of  growing  a  second 
crop  is  arrived  at. 

Against  this  may  be  set  the  gross  return  from  the  same 
expected  yield  at  any  given  stumpage  rate.  The  yield  at  the 
end  of  a  50-year  investment  will  not  be  that  of  a  50-year 
forest,  however,  for  although  the  carrying  cost  begins  at 
once,  the  new  forest  requires  a  few  years  to  become  estab- 
lished. N~o  exact  figure  can  be  set  for  this,  for  some  seed  will 
sprout  the  first  year  and  some  blank  spaces  may  persist  sev- 
eral years,  but  in  the  tables  to  follow  five  years  has  been 
allowed  for  an  average.  Consequently,  instead  of  calculating 
on  a  28  M  yield  as  the  return  at  the  end  of  50  years,  as  indi- 
cated in  the  yield  table  on  the  preceding  page,  the  45-year 
yield  of  20%  M  is  used,  and  similarly  for  the  other  periods  of 
60,  70  and  80  years.  These  four  rotations  only  will  be  consid- 
ered here,  for  in  less  than  50  years  second  growth  will  prob- 
ably be  too  small  to  be  cut  at  the  highest  profit,  while  after 
80  years  the  investment  compounds  so  heavily  as  to  make  it 
improbable  that  increasing  stumpage  values  will  compensate. 

Three  interest  rates  have  been  used  in  the  first  table  to 
follow :  4,  5  and  6  per  cent,  compound.  Forest  calculations 
at  lower  rates  are  often  seen,  but  it  is  not  believed  that  less 
than  5  per  cent  will  be  satisfactory  to  private  owners  and 
many  will  insist  on  6  per  cent.  The  fair  standard  is  what  the 
owner  can  make  in  other  business  today,  and  since  he  can  re- 
invest his  income  in  the  same  business,  it  is  reasonable  to 
figure  at  a  compound  rate.  A  few  examples  are  given  to 
show  how  similar  calculations  may  be  made  with  any  set  of 
investment  and  stumpage  factors  which  appeal  to  individual 
judgment.  The  second  table,  prepared  from  the  first,  shows 
at  a  glance  the  price  that  must  he  received  for  Douglas  fir 
to  make  it  pay  either  5  or  6  per  cent  compound  interest  under 
a  range  of  sixty  different  conditions  of  original  investment 
and  annual  cost. 


THE    PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  ?9 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that,  although  present  land 
value  is  made  a  charge,  the  value  of  the  land  at  the  time  of 
harvest  is  not  considered.  This  value  is  certain  to  increase 
greatly  in  the  long  periods  involved.  Taxation  charges  will 
be  against  it  as  well  as  against  the  timber.  Indeed  much 
land  is  now  held  without  any  regard  to  possible  second  growth. 
It  should  be.  assumed  therefore  that  any  profit  in  forest  in- 
vestment shown  will  he  increased  by  the  sum  obtainable  for 
the  land  at  the  end  of  the  same  period. 

Cost  per  M  of  growing  Cost  per  M  of  growing 
Douglas  fir  resulting  from  Douglas  fir  resulting  from 
every  $1  per  acre  origi-  every  l  cent  per  acre  of 
nally  invested.  annuaI   carrying  charge. 

At  the  end  of—  __At  the  end  of 

50  60  70  SO  50  60  70  SO 

Years.  Years.    Years.  Years.     Years.     Years.     Years.   Years. 

J{    \'° ¥   '35      *   -30     *     33     I   ■«      ¥     074     $   .068     *   .078     $   .09S 

J1J5 56  -53  -65  -88  102  .101  .126  .172 

At   6% 90  -94       1.27       1.87         .142  .152  .208         .309 

Example  1:  With  land  worth  $2.50  an  acre  at  present, 
and  an  estimated  carrying  charge  of  3  cents  a  year  for  protec- 
tion and  20  cents  per  taxes,  what  stumpage  price  for  a  50- 
year  crop  will  pay  5  per  cent  compound  interest?  6  per  cent? 


5% 


6% 


2ViX.56  =!j!l.40  9i/zX     90=$<>  05 

23     X.  102=  2.35  23     X.  142=  3.27 


$3.75 


>.)..>: 


Example  2  :  With  land  worth  $5  an  acre  at  present,  and 
stumpage  estimated  to  reach  $7.00  in  60  years,  what  is  the 
maximum  annual  carrying  charge  per  acre  which  can  be  paid 
during  this  period  and  permit  a  5  per  cent  return?  A  6  per 
cent  return  ? 


5% 


6% 


Gross    return=*7.00  Gross    return=$7.00 

5X.53  =  2.65  5X.94  =  4.70 

$4.35-f-.101=43c  $2.30^-.  152=1 5c 

Example  3 :     Assuming  that  stumpage  will  be  worth  $6.00 
in  50  -years,  and  that  public  enlightenment  will  keep  the  an- 


80 


PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 


nual  fire  and  tax  charge  from  exceeding  20  cents,  what  price 
obtainable  for  cut-over  land  today,  made  to  earn  5  per  cent 
compound  interest  in  some  other  business,  is  as  profitable  as 
keeping  the  land  for  a  second  crop?  If  other  business  would 
earn  6  per  cent? 


5% 
Gross    return=$6.00 
20X.102  =  2.04 


6% 
Gross   return=$6.00 
20X.142  =  2.84 


$3.96h-.56=$7.07 


$3.16-^.90=$3.51 


FUTURE    STUMPAGE    PRICES    NECESSARY    TO    MAKE    DOUGLAS    FIR 

SECOND    CROP    PAY    EITHER    5    OR    6%    COMPOUND 

INTEREST  ON  INVESTMENT. 


Maximum   O 

-iginal   ] 

nvestment  $ 

7.50  an   Acre.      Maximum   Annual 

Carrying 

Charge  30c  an 

Acre. 

,",     .    _..„ 

M  Feet — 

1     i^ost   per 

Taxes  and 

50  year 

60  year 

70  year 

80  year 

Original 

protection 

rotation 

rotation 

rotation 

rotation 

investment 

paid  yearly 

(20.5  M. 

(35  M. 

(46.6  M. 

(56.5  M. 

per  acre. 

per  acre, 
(cents) 

per  A.) 

per  A.) 

per  A.) 

per  A.) 

$2.50 

10 

1    15 
J     20 

)    25 

1^30 

$2.40 
2.95 
3.45 
3.95 
4.45 

$2.35 
2.85 
3.35 
3.85 
4.35 

$2.90 
3.50 
4.15 
4.75 
5.40 

$3.90 
4.80 
5.65 
6.50 
7.35 

5% 
Compound    , 
Interest 

5.00 

r  10 

1  15 

J    20 
|    25 
^  30 

3.80 
4.35 
4.85 
5.35 
5.85 

3.65 
4.20 
4.70 
4.20 
5.70 

4.50 
5.15 
5.75 
6.40 
7.05 

6.10 
6.95 

7.80 
8.70 
9.55 

7.50 

I 

r 10 

15 

J    20 

25 

L  30 

5.20 
1      5.75 
6.25 
6.75 
"«.25 

5.00 
5.50 
6.00 
6.50 
7.00 

6.15 
6.75 
7.40 
8.00 
S.65 

8.30 

9.20 

10.05 

10.90 

11.75 

2.50 

r 10 

15 

-l    20 

25 

L  30 

3.65 
4.40 
5.10 
5.80 
6.50 

3.85 
4.65 
5.40 
6.15 
6.90 

5.25 
6.30 
7.35 
8.35 
9.40 

7.75 

9.30 

10.85 

12.35 

13.90 

6% 
Compound    _ 
Interest 

5.00 

r 10 

15 

-J    20 

25 

I  30 

5.90 
6.65 
7.35 
8.05 
8.75 

6.20 
7.80 
7.75 
8.50 
9.25 

8.45 

9.45 

10.50 

11.55 

12.60 

12.45 
14.00 
15.50 
17.05 
18.60 

7.50 

rlO 

15 

-\  20 

25 

I  30 

8.15 

8.90 

9.60 

10.30 

11.00 

8.55 

9.35 

10.10 

10.85 

11.60 

11.60 
12.65 
13.70 
14.70 
15.75 

17.10 
18.65 
20.20 
21.75 
23.30 

These  tables  bring  out  a  number  of  very  interesting  primary 
facts : 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  81 

1.  The  rate  of  interest  demanded  of  the  investment  is  one 
of  the  most  important  factors.  This  is  because  such  long 
terms  are  involved.  The  charges  compound  with  prodigious 
rapidity  toward  the  last.  In  any  other  business  paying  6  per 
cent,  compound,  the  maximum  investment  per  acre  given  in 
the  preceding  table,  that  of  a  land  value  of  $7.50  and  a  30- 
cent  annual  charge  for  80  years,  would  earn  $1,317.  A  75- 
year  forest  then  harvestable  should  have  56%  M  to  the  acre, 
but  this  would  have  to  bring  over  $25  per  M  to  pay  as  well. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  same  deposits  earning  4  per  cent 
would  only  amount  to  $338  in  the  same  period  which  would 
be  equaled  by  timber  at  $6  per  M. 

2.  For  similar  reasons,  the  length  of  time  before  cutting 
has  much  to  do  with  profit  or  loss.  The  compounding  of 
carrying  charges  eventually  outstrips  the  production  of  ma- 
terial to  a  degree  which  can  be  offset  only  by  the  most  rapid 
rise  of  stumpage  values. 

3.  The  greater  the  investment,  the  more  marked  the  above 
effect  and  consequently  the  tendency  to  market  an  inferior 
product.  A  60-year  rotation  is  indicated  by  a  majority  of  the 
conditions  shown. 

4.  A  comparatively  slight  increase  in  annual  tax  or  fire 
charges  may  make  the  difference  between  profit  and  loss. 
Roughly,  stumpage  must  bring  $1  per  M  more  to  compensate 
for  each  10  cents  an  acre  for  taxes  at  5  per  cent  or  for  7  cents 
at  6  per  cent. 

5.  If  the  land  is  salable  for  $5  an  acre  or  more  it  cannot 
be  made  to  pay  6  per  cent  compound  interest  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions,  unless  the  stumpage  received  exceeds 
$6.  At  $5  stumpage  and  with  reasonable  taxation  it  will  pay 
5  per  cent  if  it  escapes  fire. 

6.  Thirty  cents  an  acre  is  apparently  about  the  maximum 
annual  carrying  charge  which  will  permit  a  6  per  cent  profit, 
even  with  very  high  stumpage  prices.  Consequently,  while 
present  taxes  on  cut-over  land  are  seldom  prohibitive,  there 
must  be  reasonable  certainty  that  excessive  increase  will  not 
occur. 


82  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

The  carrying  charges  shown  in  the  second  table  cover  both 
fire  protection  and  taxes,  as  by  reading  the  15-cent  line  to 
include  a  10-cent  tax  and  a  5-cent  fire  patrol.  The  invest- 
ment charge  may  be  used  to  represent  sale  value  only,  or  sale 
value  plus  any  expense  incurred  at  time  of  logging  in  order 
to  secure  reproduction,  such  as  leaving  salable  material  in 
seed  trees,  or  planting.  If  desired,  any  owner  may  make  a 
similar  calculation  on  any  other  valuation  better  fitting  his 
own  situation.  The  table  is  not  intended  for  universal  use 
but  merely  as  an  illustration  of  how  forest  calculations  may 
be  made. 

White  Pine 

Too  much  space  would  be  required  to  give  a  similar  table 
for  all  western  species,  even  were  as  good  yield  figures  avail- 
able. Roughly  speaking,  however,  western  white  pine,  under 
conditions  thoroughly  favorable  to  it,  may  be  expected  to 
make  as  good  a  yield  as  Douglas  fir,  and  the  above  fir  table 
will  not  be  far  off  for  it.  A  probably  higher  stumpage  value 
should  offset  any  lesser  production. 

Hemlock 

Western  hemlock  is  of  somewhat,  but  not  much,  slower 
growth  when  coming  in  on  open  land  as  an  even-aged  stand. 
No  yield  table  based  on  the  same  merchantable  standards  as 
the  fir  table  quoted  has  been  prepared,  but  the  following  is 
fairly  safe  to  include  all  trees  14  inches  in  diameter  used  to 
12  inches  in  the  top :  At  50  years,  2  M  per  acre;  at  60  years, 
22  M ;  at  70  years,  33  M ;  at  80  years,  40  M.  The  absence  of 
a  40-year  figure,  and  the  sudden  jump  between  50  and  60 
years,  is  because  very  few  hemlock  trees  reach  14  inches  at 
50  years,  but  a  large  number  of  12  and  13-inch  trees  pass  into 
that  class  during  the  ten  years  following.  Any  yield  figures 
for  an  even-aged  forest  show  a  similar  jump  at  the  point 
where  the  stand  as  a  whole  reaches  the  determined  minimum 
merchantable  size.    For  the  same  reason  these  hemlock  figures 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  83 

are  not  very  far  less  promising  than  those  given  for  fir,  for  at 
corresponding  ages  the  latter  include  12  and  13-inch  trees  and 
all  trees  are  considered  merchantable  to  a  top  diameter  of  8 
inches. 

Speuce 

Since  no  systematic  study  of  Sitka  spruce  second  growth 
has  been  made,  it  can  only  be  predicted  from  knowledge  of  its 
habits  that  while  in  favorable  situation  it  will  yield  as  heavily 
as  Douglas  fir,  in  other  localities  its  growth  in  early  life  is 
slower  and  less  regular,  making  it  less  likely  to  produce  a 
good  crop  before  the  carrying  charges  become  burdensome. 
If  this  proves  true,  taxation  rates  and  land  values  will  be 
extremely  important  factors,  offset  to  some  degree  by  a  smaller 
fire  hazard  and  the  probability  of  high  stumpage. 

Redwood 

For  redwood  we  also  lack  good  figures  for  any  considerable 
range  of  conditions  and  ages,  for  redwood  growth  which  fol- 
lowed burns  does  not  exist  and  there  are  no  very  old  cuttings. 
Government  studies  on  the  northern  California  coast  prove 
conclusively,  however,  that  this  is  our  most  rapid  growing 
native  commercial  tree.  In  thirty  years,  in  fair  soil,  it  will 
produce  a  tree  of  16  inches  diameter,  80  feet  high,  and  some 
existing  45-year  stands  run  20  to  30  inches  on  the  stump  and 
about  100  feet  high.  Reckoning  14-inch  trees  as  merchant- 
able, to  be  used  to  10  inches  in  the  tops,  a  25  to  30-year 
second  growth  after  logging  near  Crescent  City  was  found 
to  have  2y2  M  feet  to  the  acre  and  the  future  increase  should 
be  very  rapid.  There  is  little  question  of  the  profit  of  grow- 
ing redwood,  provided  the  difficulties  described  elsewhere  of 
getting  a  dense  crop  started  are  overcome. 


84  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY  IN 

PROFITABLE  THINNINGS 

In  addition  to  the  yield  of  saw  timber  to  be  expected  when 
the  second  crop  reaches  manufacturing  size,  there  will  be  a 
market  in  many  cases  for  material  obtained  by  thinning.  It 
is  perfectly  fair  to  compound  for  the  remainder  of  the  rota- 
tion any  net  profit  so  obtained  and  to  set  it  against  the  carry- 
ing charges.  In  many  cases  it  will  go  far  to  turn  an  appar- 
ently losing  investment  into  a  very  profitable  one.  Moreover, 
the  proper  thinning  of  growing  stands  not  only  utilizes  ma- 
terial which  would  otherwise  die  and  be  lost  before  the  main 
harvest,  but  actually  improves  the  quality  of  the  first  yield. 

In  obtaining  the  figures  previously  quoted  the  Forest  Serv- 
ice found  that  the  average  Douglas  fir  stand  at  40  years  con- 
tains 410  living  trees,  most  of  them  between  6  and  15  inches 
in  diameter.  At  60  years  there  are  but  265  trees,  145  having 
died  and  decayed  in  the  20-year  interval  which  were  suitable 
for  ties  or  other  small  timber  products.  The  remaining  trees 
would  have  been  improved  by  thinning  to  prevent  this  loss, 
for  the  greatest  diameter  growth  is  made  when  the  stand  is 
open,  and  the  ideal  is  to  have  just  the  density  which  will  get 
the  greatest  wood  production  and  still  result  in  proper  prun- 
ing and  clearing  of  the  trees. 

Commenting  along  this  line  Mr.  T.  T.  Hunger,  who  con- 
ducted the  investigation,  says: 

"That  thinnings  are  silviculturally  practicable  and  finan- 
cially profitable  in  the  Pacific  Northwest  has  been  demon- 
strated. In  the  vicinity  of  Cottage  Grove,  Oregon,  many 
fully  stocked  even-aged  Douglas  fir  stands  now  about  50  years 
old,  most  of  them  forming  a  part  of  ranches.  Many  of  these 
stands  have  been  cut  over  in  the  last  10  years  and  all  the 
material  then  large  enough  for  piling  or  mine  timber  cut  out. 
This  removed  about  20  per  cent  of  the  stand.  At  the  present 
time  many  of  these  same  stands  now  contain  much  material 
valuable  for  small  piles,  ties  and  mine  timber,  yet  the  crown 
canopy  is  as  dense  and  the  trees  as  close  and  fine  quality  as 


THE   PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  85 

though  no  cutting  had  ever  been  done  in  the  stand.  In  fact, 
some  of  the  50-year  old  stands  have  already  been  cut  over 
a  second  time,  and  each  time  with  decided  profit  to  the  owner 
and  no  damage  to  the  forest.  From  one  10-acre  block  of  sec- 
ond growth  now  50  years  old,  situated  7  miles  from  the  rail- 
road, already  32,000  feet  of  mining  timber  and  about  100  50- 
foot  piles  have  been  taken  out,  yet  the  stand  is  now  in  good 
condition,  and  in  a  few  years  more  of  the  smaller  trees  can  be 
removed  without  infringing  on  the  yield  of  the  final  crop. 
The  material  from  these  thinnings  was  worth  at  the  railroad 
about  $80  per  acre." 


CONCLUSIONS 

Throughout  the  preceding  pages  on  the  financial  promise 
of  timber-growing  in  the  West,  the  attempt  has  been  not  to 
give  conclusions  but  to  state  certain  known  facts  regarding 
tree  growth  and  indicate  how  these  may  be  used  in  arriving  at 
conclusions  based  largely  upon  the  conditions  and  judgment 
of  the  individual  owner.  In  many  cases  they  will  do  little 
more  than  suggest  further  investigation  necessary.  The  West- 
ern Forestry  &  Conservation  Association  and,  doubtless,  the 
District  Foresters  for  the  Forest  Service,  will  be  glad  to  dis- 
cuss such  work  and  assist  if  possible. 

There  are,  however,  several  conservative  deductions  to  be 
made : 

1.  The  Pacific  coast  states  contain  large  areas  having 
species  and  climatic  conditions  peculiarly  favorable  for  forest- 
growing  as  a  business.  The  rapidity  and  quantity  of  yield 
insure  profit  under  conditions  which  would  be  prohibitive  else- 
where. 

2.  In  many  cases,  perhaps  in  most,  a  second  crop  can  be 
started  with  little  initial  expense. 

3.  There  is  much  land  of  no  value  for  any  other  pur- 
pose. 

4.  Even  if  the  owner  does  not  care  to  hold  his  land  long 


86  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

enough  for  another  crop,  or  if  he  is  prevented  from  doing  so 
at  some 'future  time  by  excessive  taxation  or  other  prohibi- 
tion, its  disposal  value  will  be  greater  if  it  bears  young  forest 
growth  than  if  it  does  not. 

5.  Stumpage  values  are  certain  to  advance  greatly  and 
their  advance  will  be  governed  largely  by  these  factors : 

a.  Speculative  influence  necessarily  accompanying  the 
lessening  of  the  nation's  and  the  world's  timber  supply. 

b.  The  carrying  charges  of  fire  prevention  and  taxation 
imposed  by  the  community  upon  virgin  timber,  which,  since 
they  represent  an  investment  which  must  be  recouped,  will 
either  be  added  in  the  long  run  to  the  price  of  stumpage  ex- 
actly in  the  measure  of  their  severity  and  so  transferred  to  the 
consumer,  or  result  in  rapid  cutting  and  consequently  raise 
the  speculative  value  of  that  which  escapes  cutting.  (This 
the  consumer  will  pay  also.) 

c.  The  quantity  of  new  timber  grown. 

G.  It  is  probable  that  future  demand  for  timber  will  re- 
imburse the  cost  of  growing  it,  be  this  cost  high  or  low 
within  reasonable  limits. 

7.  This  does  not  mean,  however,  that  the  timberland 
owner  will  or  can  generally  engage  in  the  business  when  the 
cost  is  excessive.  While  he  could  probably  make  a  good  profit 
eventually,  such  an  investment  is  too  heavy  and  prolonged  to 
be  inviting;  besides  there  is  the  possibility  of  entire  loss  by 
fire.  He  will  naturally  compare  it  with  other  investments 
having  less  disadvantages.  For  example,  since  conditions 
which  discourage  the  growing  of  new  competing  forests  tend 
for  this  very  reason  to  enhance  the  value  of  existing  forests, 
he  might  invest  further  in  the  latter  instead,  with  equal 
ultimate  profit  and  with  easier  access  to  his  money  at  any 
time. 

8.  Consequently  the  growing  of  timber  is  promising  to  the 
private  owner  only  when  the  investment  can  be  borne  easily. 
Since  it  has  three  forms — land  value,  fire  protection,  and 
taxation — all  must  be  moderate  or,  if  one  or  more  is  high, 
the  rest  must  be  low. 


THE   PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  87 

9.  With  the  fire  hazard  great  at  present,  and  taxation  so 
uncertain  as  to  require  allowing  for  its  being  excessive,  the 
initial  investment  must  be  insignificant. 

10.  This  confines  it  to  land  of  low  sale  value  and  pre- 
cludes much  expense  to  insure  the  second  crop. 

11.  To  secure  the  perpetuation  of  forests  on  the  scale 
essential  to  public  welfare,  the  public  must  provide  the  private 
owner  better  fire  protection  and  an  equitable  taxation  sys- 
tem. Or  else  it  must  purchase  sufficient  cut-over  land  and 
engage  in  forestry  itself,  bearing  the  cost  and  talcing  the  risk. 

12.  Nevertheless  there  are  several  practical  exceptions  to 
the  somewhat  unfavorable  situation  theoretically  outlined 
above : 

(a)  Many  owners  are  warranted  in  holding  cut-over  land 
for  some  time,  if  not  indefinitely,  because  of  the  upward 
trend  of  land  values  generally.  Unless  clearly  most  useful 
for  agriculture,  such  land  will  be  made  more  valuable  by  a 
growth  of  young  timber.  However  indefinite  the  profit  of 
encouraging  this  growth  and  protecting  it  from  fire  may  be 
if  the  present  sale  value  and  taxes  are  computed  against  such 
outlay,  the  two  latter  charges  are  being  earned  anyway  and 
are  the  most  important  ones.  Merely  that  it  cannot  be  proved 
that  they  can  be  more  than  offset  is  no  reason  for  not  trying 
to  compensate  as  far  as  possible  at  slight  further  expense. 
While  this  may  not  often  permit  any  great  effort  to  reforest, 
it  will  usually  warrant  protection  of  the  natural  new  growth 
that  will  follow  if  given  a  chance. 

(b)  Many  owners  would  prefer  to  have  their  milling 
business  continue  indefinitely.  If  such  have  or  can  pur- 
chase virgin  timber  to  carry  them  50  years  or  more  they  may 
do  well  to  grow  a  log  supply  to  come  into  use  at  that  time, 
even  if  they  would  not  do  so  merely  as  a  stumpage  invest- 
ment. 

(c)  It  is  highly  probable  that  history  will  repeat  itself  in 
the  United  States,  especially  in  the  Pacific  coast  states  where 
every  other  condition  is  so  favorable  to  making  forestry  a 
great  benefit  to  the  community,  and  that  fire  and  tax  discour- 


88  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

agements  will  be  removed  as  soon  as  the  public  realizes  the 
situation.  The  owner  who  anticipates  this  and  gets  his  crop 
started  first  will  be  the  first  to  profit  from  it,  and  since  it  is 
the  compounding  toward  the  latter  end  of  the  rotation  which 
now  appears  serious,  the  chances  are  that  he  will  not  have  a 
heavy  burden  before  relief  of  this  kind  arrives. 

(d)  Every  owner  of  virgin  timber  which  he  expects  to 
hold  uncut  for  10  years  or  more  should  consider  reforestation 
of  adjacent  cut-over  land  in  the  light  of  fire  protection  also. 
It  is  the  inflammable,  sun-dried,  brake-covered  openings, 
yearly  increasing  in  extent,  which  constitute  his  greatest  fire 
menace.  The  conversion  of  these  into  green  young  growth, 
top  dense  for  fern  and  salal  and  destructible  only  by  the  hot- 
test crown  fires,  is  the  best  protection  he  can  give  mature 
timber  surrounded  by  them.  Some  additional  expense  for  a 
few  years  to  accomplish  this  will  usually  be  cheaper  and  safer 
than  the  patrol  otherwise  required  for  an  indefinite  period. 

(e)  Advance  in  value  of  the  land  itself,  realizable  when 
the  second  crop  is  cut,  will  in  many  cases  be  great  enough  to 
make  an  otherwise  unpromising  reforestation  investment 
profitable. 


HAEDWOOD  EXPERIMENTS 

In  the  foregoing  pages  consideration  has  been  given  to  the 
growing  of  native  coniferous  species  only.  There  is  a  field, 
however,  yet  to  be  entered  into  by  the  timber  grower  in  the 
Pacific  Northwest,  which  gives  promise  of  good  returns.  This 
is  the  growing  of  eastern  hardwoods.  As  is  well  known,  the 
supply  of  native  hardwoods  in  this  region  is  deficient  and 
those  occurring  are  of  poor  quality.  The  demand  for  staple 
hardwoods  is  constant,  and  at  present  can  be  filled  only 
through  importation  from  the  East.  Moreover,  the  manufac- 
turing industry  in  the  Pacific  Northwest  is  as  yet  only  in  its 
infancy,  and  as  this  industry  becomes  of  greater  importance 
in  the  future,  the  demand  for  hardwood  lumber  is  bound  to 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  89 

increase.  This  increase  in  demand,  coupled  with  the  rapidly 
diminishing  supply  in  the  East,  seems  certain  to  create  a 
condition  under  which  it  will  be  profitable  to  grow  hard- 
woods commercially. 

That  eastern  species  will  thrive  under  forest  conditions  in 
this  region  has  not,  of  course,  been  demonstrated,  but  the 
great  variety  of  species  planted  successfully  as  shade  trees  in 
towns  and  cities,  and  in  many  instances  by  settlers  in  the 
mountains  and  farming  districts,  together  with  the  marked 
success  of  various  fruits  introduced  here,  would  tend  to  indi- 
cate their  adaptability  to  the  climate.  In  many  respects  the 
climate  along  the  coast  of  Oregon  and  Washington  is  similar 
to  that  found  throughout  the  great  hardwood  region  of  the 
Southern  Appalachian  mountains. 

Of  the  many  species  occurring  in  the  East,  several  appear 
preeminently  suited  to  experimentation  because  of  their  par- 
ticular value  in  the  trade  and  rapid  growth.  Hickory  is  one 
of  the  most  valuable  of  eastern  woods,  and  the  supply  remain- 
ing is  probably  least  of  all  the  important  species.  It  is  largely 
used  in  the  vehicle  industry,  and  because  of  the  fact  that  the 
trade  can  use  trees  of  small  size,  and  even  prefers  "second 
growth"  hickory  to  the  more  mature  form,  a  crop  can  be 
grown  within  a  comparatively  short  time.  Shagbark  or  pig- 
nut are  probably  the  best  species  to  plant.  Eed  oak  is  an- 
other species  for  which  there  is  a  large  demand,  and  while 
it  does  not  equal  the  white  oak  in  value,  its  more  rapid  growth 
makes  it  a  more  desirable  species  to  grow.  The  increasing 
scarcity  of  white  oak  has  brought  about  the  substitution  of 
red  oak  for  many  purposes  for  which  the  more  superior  va- 
riety was  formerly  used  exclusively.  Black  walnut  is  a  wood 
highly  prized  in  furniture  manufacture,  and  this,  coupled 
with  its  rapid  growth,  places  it  among  the  first  rank  of  hard- 
wood trees.  Chestnut,  white  ash,  tulip,  poplar  and  black 
cherry  are  other  species  whose  value  for  various  purposes  sug- 
gests the  possible  advisability  of  their  introduction. 

Much  that  has  been  said  in  the  chapter  concerning  the 
methods  of  establishing  coniferous  woods  applies  equally  well 


90  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

to  hardwoods.  Those  species,  however,  whose  seeds  are  in  the 
form  of  nuts,  such  as  hickories,  black  walnut,  chestnuts,  and 
oaks,  are  particularly  adapted  to  propagation  by  direct  seed- 
ing. Other  species,  such  as  ash,  tulip,  poplar,  and  black 
cherry,  whose  seeds  are  small,  are  better  grown  for  one  year 
in  nurseries  before  transplanting  into  the  field.  Where  plan- 
tations are  started  by  planting  the  nuts  directly  in  the  field, 
the  cost  will  be  moderate.  The  nuts  can  be  obtained  in  any 
quantity  from  eastern  seed  dealers,  and  their  cost,  together 
with  the  labor  of  planting  them,  should  not  exceed  $4  per 
acre.  Where  the  area  planted  is  level  and  free  from  under- 
brush, preliminary  plowing  and  harrowing,  while  adding 
$1.50  to  $2  to  the  cost  per  acre,  will  add  much  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  plantation.  Cultivation  during  the  early  years  of 
the  life  of  the  trees  will  also  result  in  increased  growth. 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  91 


CHAPTER  IV 

FORESTRY  AND  THE  FIRE  HAZARD 

The  Slashing  Menace 

The  function  of  fire  as  an  aid  to  reproduction  of  the  forest 
in  some  instances  has  been  discussed  in  a  preceding  chapter. 
The  protection  question  is  of  even  greater  importance,  for 
whether  we  consider  mature  timber  or  reforestation,  no  forest 
management  is  worth  while  if  the  investment  is  to  burn  up. 
It  can  be  divided  broadly  under  two  heads,  reduction  of  risk 
due  to  operative  methods  and  general  protection.  Whichever 
we  consider,  the  interest  of  every  lumberman  is  at  stake.  The 
fire  question  affects  him  in  many  ways  beside  the  danger  of 
direct  loss.  The  sale  value  of  timber  in  any  region  is  in- 
creased by  knowledge  that  progressive  protective  methods  pre- 
vail among  those  operating  there.  Nothing  more  effectively 
removes  public  carelessness  with  fire,  or  lack  of  helpful  sym- 
pathy with  the  lumber  industry  in  general,  than  evidence  that 
the  lumberman  himself  is  devoting  every  effort  to  safeguard- 
ing instead  of  wasting  this  great  public  resource. 

Of  operative  methods  reducing  fire  risk,  one  of  the  most 
important  is  disposal  of  logging  debris.  The  deliberate  ac- 
cumulation of  immensely  inflammable  material,  almost  al- 
ways where  extremely  likely  to  be  ignited,  is  a  form  of  ac- 
tually inviting  disaster  practiced  by  no  property  holders  ex- 
cept lumbermen.  Nowhere  is  it  carried  to  such  an  extreme 
as  in  the  West,  where  the  refuse  left  on  the  ground  is  of  so 
great  volume  as  to  preclude  human  control  if  it  is  once  fired 
at  a  dry  time,  and  where  accidental  fire  is  often  more  of  a 


92  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY  IN 

certainty  than  a  liability.  Of  late,  however,  the  more  pro- 
gressive lumbermen  of  the  fir  region  have  adopted  the  practice 
of  firing  their  slashings  annually  at  a  time  when  the  sur- 
rounding woods  will  not  burn,  and  the  pine  men  of  Idaho  and 
Montana  have  quite  widely  endorsed  brush  piling.  Idaho  has 
a  piling  law.  Oregon  already  has  a  slash  burning  law  which 
is  partially  observed.  The  greatest  objection  to  such  a  law 
is  that  neither  reforestation  nor  economical  protection  indi- 
cates the  same  practice  in  different  types  of  forest  and  it  is 
extremely  difficult  to  make  the  law  both  flexible  and  effective. 
More  will  be  accomplished  by  voluntary  adoption  of  the 
method  best  suited  to  each  condition. 

Beush  Piling 

In  the  more  open  pine  stands  of  the  interior,  where  both  log- 
ging debris  and  original  combustible  ground  cover  are  small, 
slashings  threaten  the  adjacent  timber  less  than  in  denser 
forests,  but  are  of  peculiar  danger  to  the  valuable  young 
growth  usually  left  on  the  area  itself.  As  we  have  seen  in  a 
previous  chapter  on  western  yellow  pine,  reproduction  in  dry 
localities  may  require  scattering-  the  brush  over  the  ground 
and  keeping  fire  out,  and  there  may  be  abnormally  dense 
stands  suggesting  clean  slash  burning,  but  as  a  rule  brush 
piling  is  the  best  course.  In  view  of  the  importance  of  this 
subject  the  following  extracts  are  taken  from  a  circular  issued 
by  the  Forest  Service: 

"Advantages  of  Brush  Burning 

'The  greatest  advantage  of  brush  burning  is  the  protection 
it  gives  against  fire.  In  many  cases  brush  burning  is  the  only 
practicable  safeguard  against  fire.  After  the  average  lumber- 
ing operation  the  ground  is  covered  with  slash,  scattered 
about  or  piled,  just  as  the  swampers  have  left  it.  This,  in  the 
dry  season,  is  a  veritable  fire  trap.  Probably  90  per  cent  of 
all  uncontrolled  cuttings  are  burnt  over,  which  retards  the 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  93 

second  crop  at  least  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  years  and  per- 
haps permanently  changes  the  composition  of  the  forest.  Fires 
may  be  set  by  loggers  while  still  at  work  on  the  area  or  sev- 
eral years  after  by  lightning,  campers,  or  locomotives.  By 
piling  the  brush  and  burning  it  in  wet  weather,  or  in  snow, 
when  there  is  no  danger  of  the  fire  spreading,  all  inflammable 
material  is  removed,  and  the  second  growth  can  come  up 
without  serious  risk  of  being  destroyed.  Even  where  only 
part  of  the  brush  is  burned  and  the  rest  is  piled,  as  when  the 
piles  in  open  places,  along  ridges,  streams,  or  laid  off  lines  are 
burned,  very  much  is  gained  in  case  of  fire,  since  these  cleared 
lanes  form  bases  from  which  a  fire  may  be  fought. 

"Besides  lessening  the  danger  from  fire,  brush  burning  has 
certain  minor  advantages.  When  the  brush  on  the  ground 
is  removed  it  is  much  easier  for  rangers  and  others  to  ride  or 
walk  through  the  forest.  This  may  be  very  important  in  case 
of  a  fire  or  in  rounding  up  cattle.  It  is  also  much  easier  to 
cut  and  handle  ties,  cordwood,  or  other  timber  which  may 
later  be  taken  from  the  cut-over  areas  if  the  slash  is  out  of 
the  way.  By  piling  and  burning  the  green  brush  as  it  is  cut 
from  the  trees  by  the  swampers,  as  is  now  being  done  in 
Minnesota  and  parts  of  Montana,  the  ground  is  cleared  and 
skidding  is  made  easier  and  cheaper.  Again,  careful  piling 
and  burning  of  brush  improves  the  appearance  of  the  forest. 
There  is  nothing  much  more  unsightly  than  a  recently  cut- 
over  area  where  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  dispose  of  tops 
and  lops.  Near  towns  or  resorts  and  along  roads  or  streams 
frequented  by  tourists  this  point  should  be  carefully  consid- 
ered, but  as  a  general  rule  the  utility  of  the  forest  should  not 
be  sacrificed  for  beauty. 

"Disadvantages  of  Burning 

"The  disadvantages  of  burning  brush  are  many  and,  with 
the  one  exception  of  protection  from  fire,  far  outweigh  the 
advantages.  If  protection  can  be  had  in  some  other  way,  as 
with  more  efficient  patrol  service  or  more  stringent  laws,  the 


94  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

practice  should  in  many  cases  be  abandoned.  In  many  places,, 
especially  in  the  yellow  pine  type,  the  best,  and  often  the  only, 
reproduction  comes  up  under  a  fallen  treetop  or  other  brush. 
Where  there  is  little  of  the  old  stand  left,  the  straggling  open 
top  protects  the  seedlings  from  the  direct  heat  of  the  sun. 
Yet  brush  not  only  protects  the  seedlings  from  the  sun  but, 
what  is  more  important,  the  leaves  and  broken  twigs  form  a 
cover  which  retards  evaporation  of  moisture  from  the  soil. 
Over  the  greater  part  of  the  West  the  soil  dries  out  very 
rapidly  during  the  dry  season,  and  this  serious  retards  or 
even  prevents  the  growth  of  seedlings.  Even  in  the  moister 
regions,  such  as  that  of  the  Engelmann  spruce  type,  it  is  very 
necessary  to  conserve  the  moisture  in  the  soil  after  logging 
to  prevent  the  remaining  trees  from  being  killed  through  lack 
of  soil  moisture.  A  third  reason  why  seedlings  so  often  come 
up  only  under  the  down  treetops  is  that  they  are  protected 
from  stock.  Next  to  drought,  sheep  are  perhaps  the  most 
serious  menace  to  reproduction,  and  though  it  would  be  best 
to  keep  all  stock  off  the  area  for  several  years  after  logging, 
in  many  cases  this  is  not  practicable,  and  on  many  areas  the 
leaving  of  the  tops  on  the  ground  is  the  only  way  to  protect 
reproduction  from  injury. 

"In  many  places  after  the  timber  has  been  cut  off  gullies 
and  washes  start  in  the  old  wheel  ruts,  log  slides,  etc.,  and 
these  and  other  forms  of  erosion  can  best  be  prevented  by 
leaving  the  brush  on  the  ground,  either  laid  in  the  incipient 
washes  or  scattered  over  the  soil  that  is  likely  to  wash.  Brush 
burning  destroys  the  valuable  soil  cover,  and  on  the  spots 
where  the  piles  are  burned  the  soil  is  loosened,  which  renders 
it  even  more  liable  to  erosion. 

"It  is  well  known  that  where  the  forest  is  burned  each  year 
the  soil  becomes  poorer  and  poorer,  because  nitrogen,  the 
chief  fertilizing  ingredient  of  the  soil,  is  given  off  in  the 
smoke,  and  only  the  mineral  elements  go  back  to  the  soil  in 
the  ashes.  And,  what  is  more  injurious,  the  humus — i.  e., 
the  decomposed  vegetable  matter  in  the  top  soil — is  destroyed. 
In  burning  brush  after  logging  all  the  fertilizing  and  humus- 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  95 

forming  leaves  and  twigs  are  destroyed  just  when  most 
needed,  for  another  good  crop  of  leaves  cannot  be  expected  for 
many  years. 

"The  added  cost,  both  to  the  lumberman  and  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, is  another  argument  against  brush  burning.  The 
cost  of  piling  brush  has  varied  all  the  way  from  15  cents 
to  $1  or  more  per  thousand,  with  an  average  of  40  or  50 
cents,  while  the  cost  of  burning  may  be  from  5  cents  to  25 
cents  per  thousand,  averaging  about  15  cents.  By  abandoning 
the  practice  of  brush  piling  this  60  cents  a  thousand  will  not 
be  entirely  saved,  as  is  claimed  by  some,  for  the  brush  will 
still  have  to  be  lopped  and  disposed  of  in  some  other  way, 
which  will  cost,  it  is  estimated,  at  least  half  as  much  as  piling 
and  burning.  But  even  a  saving  of  25  or  30  cents  a  thousand 
is  a  strong  argument  against  the  practice. 

"Thus,  from  a  silvicultural  viewpoint,  the  disadvantages  of 
brush  burning  far  outweigh  its  advantages.  Yet,  as  a  general 
policy,  it  seems  unwise,  until  other  methods  have  proved 
their  efficiency,  to  abandon  brush  piling  and  burning  to  any 
great  extent  at  present.  The  fire  danger  is  a  known  quality, 
and,  though  it  is  being  reduced  each  year,  it  is  still  a  menace. 
Therefore  changes  from  the  present  practice  should  be  made 
with  caution.  Brush  piling  and  burning  is  certainly  not  ad- 
visable in  all  cases,  and  extensive  experiments  should  be  made 
to  determine  what  is  the  best  method  of  brush  disposal  for 
the  different  types  and  conditions. 

"Brush  Piling  and  Burning 

"The  cost  of  piling  varies  with  the  cost  of  labor,  the  meth- 
ods of  logging,  the  type,  the  topography,  the  kind  of  trees 
cut,  and  the  time  of  the  year  it  is  done.  A  few  figures  will 
illustrate  this  variation.  In  the  yellow  pine  type  in  Montana 
an  addition  to  the  swampers'  wages  of  15  cents  a  thousand 
would,  it  is  said,  enable  them  to  pile  the  brush,  as  they  have 
to  handle  it  anyway.  Usually,  however,  the  piling  is  done  by  a 
separate  crew.     Much  of  the  work  is  thus  duplicated.     In 


96  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

yellow  pine  in  the  Southwest,  brush  piling  costs  from  45  to 
50  cents,  while  in  Montana  it  can  be  done  for  25  cents.  One 
operator  in  lodgepole  in  Montana  says  it  is  cheaper  for  him  to 
pile  than  not  to,  because  he  can  get  his  skidding  done  so  much 
cheaper,  yet  on  other  operations  it  has  cost  from  50  cents  to 
$1  a  thousand,  depending  on  how  thoroughly  it  is  cleaned  up. 
In  the  sugar  pine  type  of  California  the  cost  of  piling  averages 
from  25  to  35  cents,  while  the  cost  in  the  Douglas  fir  type,  in 
Montana  and  Idaho,  averages  about  40  cents,  and  in  Engel- 
mann  spruce  type  the  cost  is  only  about  25  cents  a  thousand. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  cost  of  piling  will  everywhere 
be  materially  reduced  when  the  operators  begin  to  look  on 
piling  as  part  of  the  swampers'  regular  work  and  not  as  an 
entirely  separate  job. 

"Dry  brush  should  never  be  burned  during  the  dry  season, 
unless  absolutely  necessary  for  the  suppression  of  an  insect 
invasion.  Green  brush  in  some  places  may  be  burned  at  any 
time,  but  as  a  rule  it  is  unsafe  to  burn  it  in  dry  weather. 
The  best  time  to  burn  brush  is  in  the  fall,  just  after  the  first 
snowfall.  Then  the  piles  are  dry,  and  there  is  no  danger  that 
the  fire  will  get  beyond  control.  Brush  may  also  be  burned 
at  the  beginning  of  or  during  the  rainy  season,  when  the 
ground  is  damp  enough  to  prevent  the  fire  from  spreading, 
and  the  brush  dry  enough  to  burn  readily. 

"The  cost  of  brush  burning  varies  like  the  cost  of  piling. 
It  varies  even  more  in  the  same  localities,  with  weather  con- 
ditions and  methods  of  piling.  Brush  that  can  be  burned  for 
10  or  15  cents  a  thousand  at  a  favorable  time,  as  just  after 
the  first  snow,  will  cost  five  or  ten  times  as  much  to  burn  in 
dry  weather,  or  when  the  piles  are  very  wet.  Brush  can  be 
burned  more  easily  the  first  fall  after  cutting  than  it  can  the 
second  year,  when  many  of  the  leaves  have  fallen  off.  Brush 
burning  has  been  done  for  13  cents  a  thousand  in  lodgepole, 
in  the  Medicine  Bow  National  Forest,  while  it  has  cost  22 
cents  in  similar  timber  in  the  Yellowstone,  and  estimates  of 
40  cents  a  thousand  have  been  made  for  it  in  the  Rockies. 
It  is  generally  admitted  that  brush  can  be  most  economically 


THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  97 

burned  by  the  same  people  who  pile  it.  Recently  several 
contracts  have  been  made  in  which  the  purchaser  of  the  tim- 
ber is  required  to  pile  and  burn  the  brush  under  the  direction 
of  forest  officers,  as  has  been  the  practice  in  the  Minnesota 
forest  for  some  time.  This  will  lighten  the  total  cost,  and 
when  the  weather  allows  the  brush  to  be  burned,  as  logging 
proceeds,  the  cost  of  burning  will  be  offset  by  the  subsequent 
reduction  in  the  cost  of  skidding. 

"Piling  Without  Burning 

"Brush  piled  properly,  even  though  it  is  not  burned,  is  a 
great  protection  to  the  forest.  Inflammable  material  is  re- 
moved from  among  the  living  trees,  and  should  a  fire  occur  it 
would  be  much  easier  to  fight.  This  is  especially  true  where 
reproduction  is  dense.  Where  openings  are  scarce  piles 
should  be  made  in  the  most  open  places,  and  may  be  larger 
than  those  made  to  be  burned." 

Slash  Burning 

In  many  regions,  especially  in  western  Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington, logging  debris  is  too  great  to  make  piling  practicable. 
But  except  for  the  damper  localities  close  to  the  Pacific,  the 
danger  from  these  immense  accumulations  is  all  the  more 
excessive  and,  as  we  have  seen  elsewhere,  their  removal  is 
often  desirable  in  order  to  further  reforestation  by  desirable 
species.    Here  the  only  course  is  to  burn  the  slashing  clean. 

This  is  a  dangerous  process  unless  every  safeguard  is  em- 
ployed. Burning  must  be  at  a  time  in  spring  or  fall  when  the 
slashing  is  dry  enough  but  the  surrounding  woods  are  not. 
Spring  burning  is  theoretically  preferable,  for  it  leaves  less 
inflammable  material  during  the  fire  season.  The  first  fire  is 
also  easier  to  control  then,  because  repeated  experiments  may 
be  made,  as  the  slashing  dries,  until  just  the  right  conditions 
exist.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  dangerous  if  there  are  many 
old  stumps  and  logs  in  which  fire  may  smoulder  to  make 


98  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

trouble  later.  The  exponents  of  fall  burning  also  argue  that 
with  care  they  can  be  ready  to  fire  a  very  dry  slashing  safely 
at  the  beginning  of  a  rainstorm.  Spring  burning  seems  to 
have  the  most  advocates,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  rule 
for  all  localities  and  conditions  can  be  given  with  confidence. 
Frequently  failure  at  one  season  leads  to  postponement  until 
the  next. 

In  either  case  the  slashing  can  be  given  the  advantage  of 
the  greatest  dryness  with  safety  if  it  is  surrounded  by  a 
cleared  fire  line  from  which  to  work.  Firing  should  be 
against  the  wind  and  if  the  wind  changes  suddenly  the  oppo- 
site edge  should  be  back  fired.  Previous  cutting  of  all  dead 
trees  and  snags  over  25  feet  high  is  urgently  recommended. 
The  camp  crew  should  be  held  in  readiness,  well  provided 
with  tools,  as  insurance  against  accidental  escape. 

Its  probable  restriction  of  insect  breeding  is  a  point  of 
slash  burning  likely  to  receive  much  future  study.  It  is  well 
known  that  most  forest-injuring  insects  prefer  dying  trees 
to  vigorous  ones;  also  that  the  existence  of  an  abnormal 
amount  of  such  material  tends  to  abnormal  breeding  and  con- 
sequent serious  attack  of  vigorous  timber  when  the  dead 
material  becomes  too  dry  to  be  inviting.  It  is  by  no  means 
impossible  that  the  supposed  immunity  of  Douglas  fir  from 
insect  injury  may  be  largely  due  to  the  almost  universal  de- 
struction by  fire  of  logging  debris  which  would  otherwise 
afford  ideal  breeding  places. 

Fire  Lines 

The  division  of  mature  forest  into  compartments  separated 
by  fire  lines  is  seldom  practicable  in  this  country.  Neverthe- 
less slashings,  deadenings  and  similar  fire  traps  can  very  often 
be  profitably  confined  by  the  cleaning  of  strips  which  will  not 
only  stop  or  retard  the  progress  of  a  moderate  fire  but  also 
facilitate  patrol,  fire  fighting  or  back  firing.  On  favorable 
ground,  where  some  choice  is  offered,  much  may  be  done  by 
falling  timber  inward  so  as  to  leave  few  tops  near  the  uncut 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  99 

timber  and  by  the  location  of  skiclroads.  So  far  as  prac- 
ticable fire  lines  should  be  on  the  tops  of  ridges,  for,  being 
slower  to  go  downhill  than  up,  fire  is  more  easily  discouraged 
just  as  it  reaches  a  crest.  Bottoms  of  gulches  are  next  in 
strategic  value,  and  midslopes  least. 

Safeguarding  Equipment 

The  most  fruitful  source  of  fires  is  spark-emitting  locomo- 
tives and  logging  engines.  Much  data  has  been  collected 
showing  that  with  oil  at  a  reasonable  price  its  use  is  econom- 
ical from  a  labor-saving  point  of  view  as  well  as  from  that 
of  safety.  It  reduces  expense  for  watchmen,  patrol,  fuel  cut- 
ting, firebox  cleaning  and  firing.  And  since  it  is  an  absolute 
prevention,  while  all  other  measures  merely  seek  to  minimize 
the  risk,  it  is  probable  that  even  where  the  cost  of  the  oil 
more  than  balances  these  savings  it  will  save  in  the  long  run 
by  averting  a  costly  fire. 

Where  the  use  of  oil  cannot  be  considered,  spark  arresters 
are  essential.  The  argument  that  they  prevent  draft  is  not 
worth  attention.  It  is  greatly  exaggerated  by  engineers  and 
firemen  prejudiced  against  innovation  or  too  inattentive  to 
keep  their  fires  up  properly  and  consequently  unnecessarily 
dependent  on  occasional  forced  draft.  The  slight  disadvan- 
tage involved  by  the  modern  improved  arrester  is  not  to  be 
compared  with  the  importance  of  the  safety  acquired. 

In  addition  to  spark  arresters,  which  may  fail  or  be  out  of 
order,  logging  engines  using  fuel  other  than  oil  should  be  pro- 
vided with  a  constant  tank  or  barrel  supply  of  six  to  twelve 
barrels  of  water  and  100  feet  of  hose  with  proper  pumping 
attachment.  With  this  a  spark  fire  can  be  promptly  soaked 
out  beyond  danger  of  invisible  smouldering  in  rotten  wood  or 
duff.  When  conditions  are  dangerous,  careful  loggers  send 
a  man  back  to  each  donkey-setting  between  supper  and  bed- 
time to  look  for  possible  fires  that  were  not  seen  when  the 
crew  left.     Many  keep  a  watchman  on  the  rounds  all  night. 

Railroad  rights  of  way  can  usually  be  kept  cleaned  and 


100  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY   IN 

burned  at  a  cost  far  less  than  that  of  otherwise  frequent  shut- 
downs of  the  entire  camp  to  fight  fire  or  rebuild  bridges,  to 
say  nothing  of  loss  of  timber. 

Patrol 

The  best  way  to  prevent  fire  is  to  prevent  it.  Putting  out 
fires  already  started  is  better  than  letting  them  burn,  but  as 
the  real  foundation  of  a  protective  system  it  is  about  like 
lowering  a  lifeboat  after  the  ship  has  struck.  Only  by  patrol 
can  the  incipient  spark  or  camp  fire  be  extinguished  before 
it  becomes  a  forest  fire  that  has  to  be  fought,  taking  hours  or 
days  instead  of  minutes.  One  patrolman  can  stop  100  in- 
cipient fires  easier  than  100  men  can  stop  one  big  fire.  Fires 
in  the  forest  may  never  be  wholly  averted,  but  patrol  will 
prevent  them  from  becoming  "forest  fires." 

This  is  why  the  progressive  lumberman  no  longer  waits 
till  forced  to  lay  off  his  crew  to  fight,  spending  in  a  day  or  two 
a  patrolman's  salary  for  a  season,  shutting  down  his  road  and 
mill  for  lack  of  logs,  and  perhaps  in  spite  of  all  losing  several 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  timber  and  equipment.  It  is  also 
why  the  progressive  non-operating  owner  no  longer  considers 
fire  loss  the  act  of  God,  to  be  reckoned  as  an  investment  risk 
of  several  per  cent.  The  man  who  does  not  patrol  his  timber 
nowadays  is  like  a  millman  who  hires  no  watchman,  has  no 
hose  or  sprinkler  equipment,  and  carries  no  insurance.  He 
may  escape  loss,  but  by  not  making  a  reasonable  effort  to  in- 
sure against  it  he  takes  a  course  practically  unknown  with 
other  forms  of  property. 

Modern  fire  patrol  is  systematic.  Trained  and  organized 
men  have  definite  duties.  Tools,  assistance  and  supplies  are 
available  at  known  points  and  without  delay.  Trails  and 
look  out  stations,  often  supplemented  by  telephone  lines,  give 
the  greatest  efficiency  with  the  least  number  of  men.  Above 
all,  the  system  is  based  on  the  fact  that  results  are  most 
truly  measured  not  by  the  number  of  fires  extinguished  but 
by  the  absence  of  fire  at  all.     Settlers,  campers  and  lumber- 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  101 

men  are  visited,  cautioned  and  converted.  In  short,  the 
patrolman  has  a  certain  area  in  which  to  improve  public  senti- 
ment. His  success  in  this  is  worth  more  than  efficiency  in 
fighting  fires  due  to  lack  of  such  success.  A  system  devoted  to 
mere  fire  fighting  to  be  adequate  must  grow  larger  as  time 
goes  on.  One  devoted  to  preventing  fire  may  be  reduced,  as 
time  makes  it  successful. 

The  cost  of  efficient  patrol  varies  so  directly  with  the  risk 
that  it  is  almost  constant  as  an  insurance  investment.  Where 
prevalence  of  fire,  difficulty  of  handling  it,  etc.,  make  the 
cost  per  acre  comparatively  high,  there  is  equivalent  certainty 
of  greater  loss  if  this  sum  is  not  spent.  Where  the  owner  is 
warranted  in  believing  his  risk  small  it  costs  but  a  trifle  to 
provide  sufficient  patrol  to  insure  against  it.  One  to  3  cents 
an  acre  is  spent  in  the  great  majority  of  successful  patrols  in 
ordinary  seasons. 

Associate  Effort 

One  of  the  first  lessons  learned  from  the  establishment  of 
private  patrol  in  the  West  was  that  both  efficiency  and  econ- 
omy are  obtained  by  co-operation  between  owners.  Obvi- 
ously if  one  patrolman  can  cover  the  holdings  of  several,  it  is 
foolish  for  each  to  hire  a  man.  If  a  fire  threatens  several 
tracts,  it  is  better  to  share  the  expense  of  labor  hired  to  put 
it  out.  The  same  is  true  of  building  trails,  buying  tool  sup- 
plies, etc.  This  has  led  to  the  forming  of  associations  which 
at  a  minimum  cost  to  each  member  accomplish  the  many  tasks 
of  finding  suitable  men,  having  them  authorized  by  the  State, 
supervising  and  supplying  them,  paying  emergency  expense, 
opening  trails,  etc.  Each  member  pays  his  share  upon  the 
acreage  he  represents. 

These  associations  offer  other  important  advantages  besides 
the  mere  cheapening  of  work.  They  are  admirably  adapted 
to  modifying  the  cost  to  fit  the  season.  Beginning  in  spring 
with  an  assessment  to  cover  putting  the  whole  territory  under 
the  essentials  of  supervision  and  patrol,  they  can  add  men 


102  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

just  as  required  b}r  the  progress  of  dry  weather  and  reduce 
again  in  the  fall.  Men  can  be  centralized  at  danger  points 
better  than  through  individual  effort.  Exceedingly  important 
is  the  means  they  afford  of  bringing  in  the  non-resident 
owner,  the  small  owner  who  is  not  warranted  in  employing 
anyone  alone,  and  the  non-progressive  owner  who  would  other- 
wise do  nothing  but  is  ashamed  to  stay  out  of  a  general 
movement. 

No  tract  can  be  safely  considered  as  an  independent  unit. 
No  protection  confined  to  it  alone  is  as  good  insurance  as  the 
removal  of  risk  from  the  district  within  which  it  lies.  Fire  is 
no  respecter  of  section  lines.  There  is  always  danger  of  un- 
usual weather  in  which  it  may  travel  a  long  distance.  It  is 
far  better  to  secure  the  maximum  general  safety  in  the  local- 
ity than  to  have  guarded  tracts  alternating  with  fire  traps. 
Moreover  attention  to  individual  tracts  does  not  improve  sur- 
rounding conditions,  and  the  latter  may  easily  become  so  bad 
as  to  make  the  cost  of  individual  patrol,  as  well  as  the  risk, 
far  overbalance  any  financial  disadvantage  at  present  through 
co-operation. 

Again,  the  public  is  far  more  likely  to  take  kindly  to  the 
enforcement  of  fire  laws  by  an  association  than  to  the  action 
of  an  individual  owner  against  whom  some  prejudice  may 
exist.  Associations  greatly  simplify  co-operation  with  State 
and  Government  in  fire  work  and  tend  to  bring  about  ap- 
propriations for  the  purpose.  They  enable  uniform  and  con- 
centrated effort  to  improve  sentiment  and  legislation.  This 
booklet  and  the  other  work  done  by  the  Western  Forestry  & 
Conservation  Association  was  made  possible  by  the  existence 
of  the  local  organizations  it  represents.  Their  independent 
local  and  State  effect  has  been  marked. 

The  bad  fire  season  of  1910  was  a  supreme  test  of  the  asso- 
ciations of  the  Pacific  Northwest.  They  kept  the  bad  fires 
in  their  immense  territory  down  to  a  number  which  can  be 
counted  on  the  fingers  and  their  losses  were  comparatively 
insignificant.  Yet  under  the  weather  conditions  which  ex- 
isted the  thousands  of  fires  they  extinguished  would  certainly 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  103 

otherwise  have  swept  the  country  and  caused  a  disaster  prob- 
ably unparalleled  in  American  history. 

Reforestation  as  a  Fiee  Preventative 

However  progressive  the  preventive  policies  adopted,  the 
race  between  them  and  the  increasing  sources  of  hazard  re- 
sembles that  between  armor  plate  and  ordnance  in  the  con- 
struction of  battleships.  While  for  a  given  population  en- 
gaged in  pursuits  endangering  the  forests  the  risk  lessens,  the 
total  activity  increases  at  a  rate  which  makes  the  smaller 
proportionate  risk  as  great  in  actual  measure.  This  is  par- 
ticularly true  of  the  growth  of  slashing  areas.  The  virgin 
forest  becomes  more  and  more  and  checkered  by  burned  and 
cut-over  deadenings,  veritable  fire-traps  open  to  sun  and  wind, 
and,  especially  west  of  the  Cascades,  usually  covered  by  inflam- 
mable debris,  brush  or  dead  ferns.  Each  year  brings  nearer 
the  time  when,  unless  something  is  done,  such  will  constitute 
the  majority  of  once  forested  land  and  the  uncut  timber  will 
remain  like  islands  in  expanses  of  extreme  danger. 

Next  to  cultivation,  which  but  a  small  percentage  will  re- 
ceive, the  safest  insurance  against  recurring  fires  in  these  cut- 
over  areas  is  a  thrifty  young  second  growth.  It  shades  the 
ground,  keeps  out  annual  vegetation  that  furnishes  fuel  when 
dead,  and  will  itself  carry  none  but  such  furious  crown-fires 
as  would  be  practically  unknown  were  there  no  openings  for 
them  to  gain  headway  in.  This  is  less  true  of  pine,  but  the 
very  best  protection  which  can  be  given  a  tract  of  merchant- 
able fir  is  a  strip  of  10  to  50-year  second  growth  surround- 
ing it. 

Whether  regarded  from  the  owner's  standpoint  or  that 
of  the  public,  reforestation  should  be  considered  as  a  protec- 
tive measure  of  extreme  importance.  Actual  expenditure  to 
obtain  it  may  easily  be  profitable  for  this  reason  alone,  for 
once  established  it  will  decrease  the  cost  of  patrol  thereafter. 
Were  all  cut-over  land  in  the  Northwest  immediately  re- 
stocked, the  fire  hazard  would  be  enormously  reduced. 


101  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 


CHAPTER  V 

FORESTRY  AND  THE  FARMER 

Cutting  Methods 

J  f  there  is  anyone  for  whom  the  practice  of  forestry  is  prac- 
tical  and  profitable,  it  is  the  farmer  who  owns  the  timber  he 
uses  for  fuel  or  other  purposes.  His  supply  of  the  most  suit- 
able material  is  almost  always  limited  and  in  any  case  his 
method  of  using  it  is  practically  certain  to  influence  his 
permanent  labor  expenses.  Nevertheless,  especially  in  well- 
timbered  regions,  cutting  is  apt  to  be  with  but  two  considera- 
tions— the  quickest  clearing  of  land  or  the  easiest  immediate 
fulfillment  of  some  need  for  tree  products — and  the  passage 
of  a  few  years  brings  realization  that  this  early  thoughtless- 
ness must  be  paid  for  at  a  high  price. 

In  the  first  place  almost  all  timber  of  a  commercial  species 
has  real  and  increasing  value.  If  it  is  young,  this  value  is 
increasing  doubly  because  of  growth.  Varying  greatly,  of 
course,  young  timber  in  the  Pacific  Northwest  very  often  adds 
from  500  to  1,000  board  feet  to  the  acre  annually.  This 
annual  gain  is  taking  place  even  if  the  timber  has  not 
reached  merchantable  size,  being  like  coin  deposited  in  a  toy 
bank  which  does  not  open  until  full.  And  this  is  true 
whether  the  ultimate  use  may  be  for  fuel,  poles,  or  salable 
material  like  tie  or  saw  timber. 

Too  much  land  is  cleared  of  young  growth,  merely  because 
such  clearing  is  easy,  which  is  of  such  low  value  for  tilling 
or  even  pasture  that  its  use  for  these  purposes  does  not  pay 
as  well  in  the  long  run  as  would  its  use  for  growing  timber, 


THE   PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  105 

especially  when  the  investment  of  clearing  is  considered.  The 
resulting  expanse  of  charred  stumps  and  logs,  producing  little 
but  ferns,  is  a  small  farm  asset  at  best.  The  timber  it  would 
grow  may  eventually  be  a  large  asset.  And  the  labor  of 
clearing  applied  to  a  smaller  tract  of  good  land  is  sure  to 
bring  greater  returns.  An  illustration  is  furnished  by  two 
tracts  near  the  end  of  a  recently  completed  railroad  in  west- 
ern Washington.  Twenty  years  ago  a  settler  slashed  a  large 
area  of  presumably  worthless  sapling  fir  adjoining  his  tillable 
bottom  land,  set  fire  to  it,  piled  and  burned  the  remaining 
poles,  "seeded  down"  a  pasture,  and  enclosed  it  by  an  expen- 
sive cedar  rail  fence.  The  pasture,  never  useful  except  in 
early  spring,  grew  up  to  ferns,  and  was  finally  abandoned. 
Even  the  fence  was  moved.  The  settler  on  the  next  claim 
left  his  part  of  the  same  sapling  growth  to  grow  and  this 
year  sold  the  timber  alone  for  $1,000  to  a  tie  mill  which  came 
into  the  neighborhood  with  the  railroad.  The  moral  of  this 
does  not  apply  to  cutting  alone,  but  argues  equally  for  pre- 
venting fire  in  second  growth. 

It  is  also  poor  economy,  if  mature  timber  exists,  to  cut 
rapidly  growing  young  timber  for  fuel  because  it  is  nearer 
the  house  or  easier  to  cut.  The  former  has  become  stationary 
in  production,  while  the  latter,  if  left,  is  earning  money  by 
growing  in  quantity  and  quality.  If  young  timber  must  be 
used,  and  the  land  is  not  worth  actually  clearing  for  cultiva- 
tion or  pasture,  it  is  usually  far  better  to  thin  out  the  poorest 
trees,  thus  leaving  the  remainder  stimulated  to  a  more  rapid 
growth,  which  will  soon  replace  those  removed,  than  to  begin 
on  the  edge  and  take  everything. 

There  is  no  reason  why  a  certain  poor-soiled  timbered  por- 
tion of  the  average  claim  should  not  be  considered. as  a  perma- 
nent wood  lot,  to  be  treated  with  the  same  interest  and  pride 
in  making  it  produce  the  greatest  quantity  of  forest  products 
for  sale  or  use  that  the  owner  accords  his  fields.  With  this 
point  of  view  established  and  consequent  study  given  the  sub- 
ject, it  will  also  be  easier  to  decide  how  large  this  portion 
should  be.    In  manv  cases  the  result  will  be  abandonment  of 


106  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

the  idea  that  all  forest  growth  is  an  enemy,  to  be  destroyed  on 
general  principles  without  calculating  what  actual  profit 
there  is  in  destruction. 

Another  point  often  overlooked  in  the  Pacific  Northwest, 
because  of  our  local  tendency  to  consider  the  forest  only  as 
something  to  struggle  against,  is  the  exactly  opposite  influence 
of  properly  placed  tree  growth  upon  sale  values  if  the  pros- 
pective buyer  is  from  the  East  or  from  our  own  cities  or  tree- 
less regions.  Such  are  attracted  strongly  by  the  grove-like 
effect  of  a  few  trees  left  around  the  house.  Their  desire  for 
this  is  as  strongly  ingrained  as  the  average  local  resident's 
desire  for  a  completely  free  outlook  to  mark  his  victory  over 
unfriendly  nature.  The  appeal  a  place  makes  to  a  bu}rer  as  a 
pleasant  home  has  frequently  as  important  an  influence  on 
his  decision  as  its  purely  practical  merits. 

His  judgment  of  the  latter,  however,  is  also  affected  by  his 
earlier  environment.  If  he  has  lived  where  farming  land  is 
open,  evidences  of  the  labor  of  clearing  are  discouraging.  The 
untouched  forest,  being  totally  beyond  his  capacity  to  estimate 
the  labor  its  removal  entails,  repels  him  less  than  stumps, 
logs,  desolate  burnings  and  like  detailed  evidences  of  the 
work  which  lies  before  him.  This  is  another  reason  why  the 
clearing  of  clearly  fertile  land  may  be  better  business  than 
the  half-clearing  of  land  perhaps  best  suited  for  forest  growth 
anyway.  Again,  not  fully  realizing  the  plentifulness  of  forest 
products  in  the  new  locality,  he  may  actually  overestimate  the 
value  of  an  attractive  piece  of  forest  land  showing  evidence 
of  the  thoughtful  care  suggested  in  a  preceding  paragraph. 

Use  or  Fire 

Above  all,  it  pays  the  settler  in  wooded  regions  to  be  careful 
with  fire.  Properly  directed  and  confined,  fire  is  necessary  in 
clearing  land.  But  there  is  no  profit  in  allowing  uncontrolled 
fire  to  spread  from  the  actual  clearing  to  create  a  snarl  of 
dead,  decaying  and  falling  trees  and  underbrush.  It  is  usually 
harder  to  extend  the  clearing  into  such  ground  than  into 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  107 

green  timber.  This  added  work  later  is  many  times  that 
necessary  to  safeguard  the  burning  in  the  first  place. 

In  every  case  that  fire  ever  escaped  from  clearing  opera- 
tions, the  cause  was  either  thoughtlessness  or  unwillingness 
to  perform  certain  work.  Because  it  is  easier  to  burn  a  slash- 
ing than  to  pile  and  burn;  or  when  a  ground  burn  is  desira- 
ble, because  it  is  easier  to  take  chances  than  to  clear  a  fire  line 
around  the  area  and  have  a  force  of  men  present;  because 
burning  at  a  dry,  dangerous  time  will  be  cleaner  and  thus 
save  work  after  the  fire ;  inexperience,  coupled  with  unwilling- 
ness to  take  advice  from  the  experienced — these  and  like 
reasons  are  responsible  for  the  destruction  of  lives  and  prop- 
erty worth  over  and  over  again  the  sum  that  was  saved  by  the 
attempted  economy.  And,  although  this  does  not  save  others, 
the  person  responsible  also  usually  loses  instead  of  gaining. 

Without  deprecating  in  the  least  the  importance  of  agri- 
cultural development  or  of  lightening  the  useful  and  not  easy 
task  of  the  settler,  it  is  still  terribly  true  that  the  agricultural 
industry  and  the  settler  suffer  an  annual  loss  through  the 
destruction  of  improvements,  crops  and  stock  by  fires  from 
careless  clearing  that  is  far  greater  financially  than  the  sav- 
ing in  clearing  cost  which  was  the  cause.  In  other  words, 
agricultural  development  is  retarded  instead  of  advanced  by 
its  present  careless  use  of  fire. 

Planting  Foe  Fuel  and  Timber 

Great  as  are  the  timber  resources  of  the  Pacific  Northwest, 
there  are  extensive  regions  in  central  and  eastern  Oregon  and 
Washington  where  timber  is  a  scarcity,  and  wood  for  fuel  and 
farm  repair  purposes  for  settlers  and  ranchers  can  be  obtained 
only  at  heavy  cost.  In  such  situations  it  will  be  a  paying 
investment  for  the  farmer  to  set  out  a  small  plantation  simply 
to  produce  his  own  wood  for  fuel,  fence  posts  and  other  pur- 
poses. It  is  true  that  some  time  must  elapse  before  planta- 
tions begin  to  be  productive,  but  by  choosing  rapid-growing 
species  and  planting  closely,  the  thinnings    which    will    be 


108  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

'necessary  in  a  few  years,  even  though  the  trees  be  small,  will 
do  for  the  woodpile.  Trees  which  grow  rapidly  and  at  the 
same  time  produce  good  wood  are,  of  course,  preferable.  If 
they  also  sprout  from  the  stump,  a  little  care  will  maintain 
the  supply  indefinitely. 

The  choice  of  species  for  a  woodlot  must  be  governed  to  a 
great  extent  by  the  location.  Many  portions  of  the  treeless 
areas  in  this  region  are  situated  at  a  high  altitude  where  the 
climatic  conditions  are  severe  and  frosts  are  common  through- 
out every  month  of  the  year.  In  such  locations  only  the  most 
hardy  trees  will  succeed.  Other  areas  are  deficient  in  moist- 
ure, and  where  this  deficiency  is  so  great  as  to  prohibit  the 
growing  of  agricultural  crops  by  dry  farming  it  is  useless 
to  attempt  growing  trees  without  irrigation. 

Probably  the  tree  most  commonly  planted  in  treeless  regions 
has  been  some  species  of  cottonwood.  Lombardy  poplar  and 
Balm  of  Gilead  have  been  great  favorites.  Cottonwood  grows 
rapidly  and  is  hardy  against  frost,  but  requires  a  never-failing 
supply  of  water  within  five  to  twenty  feet  of  the  surface.  Be- 
cause of  its  demands  for  moisture  it  will  not  grow  on  uplands, 
but  thrives  along  water  courses  or  where  there  is  plentiful 
supply  of  moisture  below  the  surface.  Its  fuel  value  is  not 
high,  though  the  quantity  of  its  wood  production  compensates 
for  its  poor  quality,  nor  does  it  make  good  fence  posts.  Where 
quick  growth  is  the  main  consideration,  however,  it  is  a  good 
tree  to  plant.  The  varieties  known  as  Norway  and  Carolina 
poplar  are  the  best. 

Green  ash  and  hackberry  are  also  hardy  against  both  cold 
and  moisture,  but  of  slow  growth.  Their  wood  is  durable  in 
contact  with  the  soil,  making  them  suitable  for  fence  posts. 
Where  it  succeeds  black  locust  combines  many  of  the  desirable 
qualities  to  the  highest  degree.  It  is  a  rapid  grower,  makes 
excellent  fence  posts  and  has  high  fuel  value.  It  is  not  as 
hardy  against  frost  as  cottonwood  and  ash,  and  while  it  has 
been  planted  sin  cessfully  in  sheltered  locations  on  high 
plateaus,  its  success  where  frosts  occur  during  the  summer 
months  is  problematical.     A   closely  related   species,  honey 


THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  109 

locust,  is  more  frost-hardy  but  less  desirable  in  other  respects, 
though  an  excellent  tree  nevertheless.  Other  fairly  hardy 
and  drought-resistant  trees  are  osage  orange  and  Kussian  mul- 
berry. Their  value  for  fuel  and  fence  posts  is  high,  but  they 
will  not  succeed  in  the  most  severe  situations.  Box  elder  is 
hardy  and  has  been  widely  planted,  but  it  is  of  low  fuel  value 
and  short  lived. 

In  favorable  localities  at  low  altitudes,  where  moisture  is 
abundant  either  through  natural  precipitation  or  from  irriga- 
tion, the  number  of  species  which  are  adapted  to  woodlot 
planting  is  largely  increased.  Black  walnut,  black  cherry 
and  hardy  catalpa  are  probably  the  most  valuable  of  these 
The  latter,  however,  is  sensitive  to  early  and  late  frosts. 

Windbreaks 

The  planting  of  windbreaks  and  shelter  belts  around  dwell- 
ings and  fields  is  of  prime  importance  to  the  settler  in  an 
open  country.  Nothing  adds  more  to  the  comfort  of  the 
dweller  than  a  belt  of  timber  about  the  home  to  protect  it 
from  the  wind.  Orchards  need  windbreaks  to  save  them  from 
injury  in  a  wind-swept  country,  and  gardens  are  more  suc- 
cessful when  surrounded  by  trees.  One  of  the  most  important 
functions  of  the  windbreak,  however,  is  the  saving  of  soil 
moisture  within  the  protected  area,,  for  it  is  a  well  established 
fact  that  evaporation  takes  place  more  rapidly  when  there  is 
a  movement  of  the  atmosphere  than  when  it  is  calm.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  a  windbreak  is  effective  in  preventing  evapora- 
tion for  a  distance  equal  to  ten  to  fifteen  times  its  height. 

Some  species,  because  of  the  form  of  their  crowns  and  their 
rapid  growth,  are  more  effective  for  windbreaks  than  others. 
Since  more  coniferous  trees  retain  their  foliage  throughout 
the  entire  year,  they  afford  protection  in  winter  as  well  as  in 
summer.  Such  species  as  western  yellow,  Scotch  and  Austrian 
pine  grow  rapidly,  are  hardy,  and  serve  the  purpose  well.  In 
regions  of  abundant  moisture  Douglas  fir  or  Norway  and 
Sitka  spruce  are  unequaled.     European  larch  has  also  been 


110  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

very  successful  in  many  regions,  but,  unlike  most  conifers,  it 
sheds  its  leaves  in  winter.  Where  a  windbreak  is  to  consist  of 
a  single  row  onty,  it  should  be  of  a  densely  growing  type 
that  branches  close  to  the  ground.  For  low  breaks  of  this 
character  the  Russian  mulberry  and  Osage  orange  are  excel- 
lent. 

Trees  for  woodlot  or  windbreak  planting  can  be  purchased 
from  commercial  nurserymen  or  grown  by  the  farmer.  Many 
growers  of  orchard  trees,  particularly  in  the  states  in  the 
middle  West,  do  a  large  business  in  forest  tree  seedlings. 
Since  the  transportation  charges  are  often  high,  and  since 
most  farmers  can  give  the  attention  and  labor  necessary  to 
raising  the  trees  themselves  without  inconvenience  or  extra 
expense,  it  is  often  desirable  for  them  to  do  so.  The  Forest 
Service  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  has  issued  sev- 
eral publications  containing  full  directions  for  the  establish- 
ment of  nurseries,  and  these  can  be  obtained  from  the  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Documents,  Washington,  D.  C,  free  or  at 
a  nominal  cost.* 

Planting  may  be  done  in  the  spring  or  fall,  the  latter  being 
often  preferable  in  regions  where  a  dry  season  occurs  early  in 
the  summer.  For  plantations  of  broadleaf  species,  one-year- 
old  seedlings  are  best  suited,  while  coniferous  species  should 
be  two  to  three  years  old.  The  chief  points  to  remember  in 
setting  out  the  trees  are  not  to  allow  the  roots,  particularly  of 
coniferous  trees,  to  dry  out;  to  dig  the  holes  large  enough  to 
enable  the  roots  to  take  a  normal  position  without  doubling 
up,  and  to  pack  the  soil  firmly  around  them.  Where  planting 
is  done  on  open  ground,  it  is  highly  advantageous  to  plow  and 
harrow  the  soil  before  setting  out  the  trees  in  order  to  pre- 
serve the  moisture  and  kill  weeds  and  sod. 

Willows,  cottonwoods  and  other  poplars  are  very  easily 
propagated  from  cuttings.  Cuttings  should  be  of  strong, 
healthy  wood  of  the  previous  season's  growth  which  ripened 


*  Reprint  from  Yearbook,  Dept.  of  Agr.,  1905,  "How  to  Grow  Young 
Trees  for  Forest  Planting." 

Bulletin  No.  29,  "The  Forest  Nursery." 

Planting  leaflets  for  almost  all  important  forest  trees. 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  HI 

well  and  did  not  shrivel  during  the  winter.  A  good  length  is 
8  to  12  inches,  with  the  upper  cut  just  above  a  bud.  They 
may  be  made  when  wanted  and  planted  with  a  spade,  or  if 
the  ground  is  mellow  they  can  be  merely  shoved  into  the  soil 
until  only  one  bud  is  above  the  surface  and  then  tramped. 

The  spacing  of  the  trees  is  a  question  largely  of  utility, 
with  some  variation  for  different  species.  In  general,  how- 
ever, close  planting  is  advisable  in  treeless  regions,  since  an 
artificial  forest  must  stand  in  a  dense  mass  if  it  is  to  succeed 
in  the  struggle  against  native  vegetation,  wind,  sunshine, 
frost  and  dry  weather.  A  single  tree  or  row  unprotected  by 
associates  has  a  poorer  chance.  Cultivation  is  the  best  method 
of  conserving  soil  moisture.  To  obtain  the  best  results  planta- 
tions should  be  cultivated,  if  possible,  at  least  during  the  first 
few  years.  The  less  care  the  trees  are  to  have,  the  thicker 
they  should  be  set  in  order  that  they  will  be  close  enough  to 
establish  forest  conditions  of  shade,  litter  and  underbrush. 
Thinnings  can  then  be  made  as  they  grow  and  need  more 
room.  The  material  thus  obtained  will  provide  an  early  sup- 
ply of  fuel,  stakes  and  posts.  A  spacing  of  4x4  feet  is  com- 
mon, but  this  does  not  allow  for  cultivation.  For  this  reason 
2x8  feet  is  preferable.  Shelter  belts  should  be  planted  closely 
in  order  to  give  protection  quickly. 

Cost 

The  cost  of  planting  is  not  great.  Broadleaf  seedlings  will 
cost  from  $1  to  $6  per  thousand  at  the  nursery,  coniferous 
plants  $2.50  to  $10.  If  grown  at  home  the  cost  will  be  greatly 
reduced.  The  preparation  of  the  soil  by  plowing  and  harrow- 
ing should  not  exceed  $2  per  acre,  and  planting  from  $2.50 
to  $5  per  thousand,  according  to  the  species,  the  method  used 
and  the  condition  of  the  soil. 


APPENDIX 


TAX  REFORM  TO  PERMIT  REFORESTATION 

Loss  in  Idle  Land 

It  is  of  the  very  highest  importance  to  have  that  part  of  our 
constantly  increasing  area  of  cut  and  burned  over  forest  land  which 
is  not  more  valuable  for  agriculture  put  to  its  only  useful  purpose — 
the  growing  of  another  forest  crop.  If  this  is  done  it  will  continue 
to  be  a  source  of  tax  revenue,  to  employ  labor  and  support  industry, 
to  supply  our  forest  needs,  to  bring  revenue  into  the  state,  and  to 
protect  our  streams.  Otherwise  it  will  become  a  desert,  non-taxable, 
non-productive,  a  fire  menace,  and  in  every  way  worse  than  a  dead 
loss  to  the  state  in  which  it  exists  and  to  the  country  at  large.  In 
the  one  way  it  will  be  of  use  to  every  citizen,  whatever  his  occupa- 
tion; in  the  other  it  will  be  a  burden  upon  every  citizen. 

The  realness  and  directness  of  this  problem  in  the  Pacific  North- 
west is  seldom  realized.  Our  deforested  areas  are  great  and  growing, 
but  of  even  more  peculiar  significance  is  our  unparalleled  opportunity 
for  making  them  quickly  profitable  to  the  community.  Forest  growth 
is  more  rapid  and  certain  than  elsewhere.  A  heavy  crop  may  be  had 
again  in  from  40  to  60  years.  It  will  hardly  be  of  the  quality  of 
that  now  being  cut,  but  considering  the  shortage  then  to  prevail 
should  bring  fully  as  much  wealth  into  the  state  from  its  manufacture, 
the  majority  to  be  circulated  as  payment  for  supplies  and  labor. 
Since,  therefore,  our  denuded  land  should  in  GO  years  or  less  bring  in 
again  as  much  as  it  has  already,  its  idleness  costs  us  each  year  a 
sixtieth  or  more  of  that  immense  sum,  amounting  to  a  great  many 
millions  of  dollars  annually.  To  this  loss  is  added  the  loss  of  tax 
revenue  which  the  new  crop  would  yield,  with  countless  indirect 
injuries. 

The  Owner's  Compulsory  Attitude 

For  this  situation  our  system  of  taxation  is  chiefly  responsible. 
The  owner  may  or  may  not  hold  the  land  for  a  time  under  the  present 
system,  in  the  hope  of  selling  it  or  of  tax  reform,  but  he  will  seldom 
if  ever  take  any  steps  to  insure  reforesting,  because  to  do  so   is  too 

113 


114  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

likely  to  be  at  an  actual  loss.  Whether  he  has  made  money  on  the 
original  crop  has  no  bearing;  nor  has  his  being  rich  or  poor,  resident 
or  alien.     His  cut-over  land  presents  a  distinct  problem  to  him. 

In  the  first  place,  its  sale  value  represents  an  investment.  He  may 
sell  and  reinvest  the  money  in  any  business  which  looks  inviting — 
perhaps  in  standing  timber.  Presumably  he  can  get  ordinary  business 
returns,  6  per  cent  or  more,  and  continue  to  reinvest  these  returns. 
Therefore  if  he  leaves  this  money  in  forest  land  for  50  years  without 
return,  for  every  dollar  so  tied  up  he  must  get  $18.42  at  the  end  of 
that  period  if  he  is  to  make  6  per  cent  on  the  investment.  And  this 
applies  not  only  to  the  present  value  of  the  land,  but  also  to  any 
added  expense  he  incurs  in  modifying  his  cutting  methods,  or  in 
replanting,  in  order  to  insure  reforestation.  If  both  together  amount 
to  $5  an  acre,  he  must  net  $92.10  at  the  end  of  his  50  years  in  order 
to  make  6  per  cent. 

So  far  no  complaint  can  be  made.  But  if  the  land  is  to  produce  a 
second  crop  it  cannot  be  loft  to  take  care  of  itself,  as  it  might  were 
it  being  held  for  speculative  purposes  only.  It  must  be  protected 
from  fire  and  trespass.  And  since  the  interest  and  principal  invested 
will  amount  to  so  much  for  so  long  a  period  and  be  totally  lost  in 
case  of  destruction,  the  protection  must  be  adequate,  practically 
amounting  to  insurance.  The  annual  cost  will  vary  greatly  according 
to  locality,  class  of  timber,  and  the  enforcement  of  fire  laws,  but  will 
be  from  1  cent  at  the  minimum  to  15  cents  at  the  maximum  in  bad 
seasons.  If  all  cost  of  protection  and  administration  is  placed  at 
only  5  cents  annually,  for  the  sake  of  illustration,  this  represents 
another  investment  constantly  increasing  and  compounding,  which, 
at  the  end  of  50  years  at  G  per  cent,  will  amount  to  $14.51  an  acre. 
Consequently,  adding  thai;  to  his  original  investment  which  will  have 
become  $92.10,  he  must  net  $106.61  to  make  his  6  per  cent. 

How  Taxes  Enter  the  Problem 

Let  us  now  consider  the  influence  of  taxation.  We  have  assumed 
the  land  to  be  valuable  for  forest  growing  only,  and  in  calling  his 
investment  $5  an  acre  included  some  cost  of  insuring  reforestation. 
Place  this  at  $2  and  leave  a  land  value  of  $3,  to  be  fully  taxed  at 
30  mills  for  both  state  and  county  purposes,  which  is  perhaps  a  fair 
average.  This  represents  the  third  form  of  his  investment,  or  9 
.-cuts  an  acre  invested  annually  and  left  unavailable  for  50  years,  and 
will  amount  at  the  end  of  that  time,  at  6  per  cent,  to  $26.13.  He  has 
now  to  clear  $132.74  an  acre,  besides  being  always  in  danger  of  total 
or  partial  loss  from  fire,  and  during  all  this  lime  has  to  hare  the 
money,  made  in  some  other  way,  to  meet  .'I!  the  annual  payments. 
But  no   injustice   appears,   for  he   lias   been   taxed   on    an   equal   basis 


THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  115 

with  other  producers.  If  his  acre  yields  20,000  feet  (the  maximum 
to  expect),  -worth  $7  a  thousand,  he  has  made  his  6  per  cent,  the 
community  has  gained  a  resource,  and  every  one  is  satisfied.  His  land 
has  been  taxed  fairly  and  as  he  now  has  a  crop  to  sell  he  ean  afford 
to  pay  a  tax  on  it  also.  If  it  is  taxed  at  3  pec  cent,  or  $4.20  an  acre, 
county  and  state  will  altogether  have  feeeived  from  him  the  same  tax 
revenue  they  collect  from  other  forms  of  property  and  industry  of 
like  value  and  profit,  and  received  also  the  other  benefits  of  forest 
production  and  of  his  expenditure  of  wages  for  protection. 

But  this  is  just  what  cannot  legally  be  done  under  our  present  tax 
system.  By  failure  to  recognise  that  the  growth  produced  is  a  crop, 
distinct  from  the  land,  grown  at  the  owner's  effort  and  expense,  and 
returning  no  revenue  until  ripe,  the  law  now  compels  the  repeated 
annual  taxation  of  the  ovjner's  effort  to  an  extent  very  likely  to  amount 
to  confiscation.  It  has  been  seen  that  even  under  the  fair  system 
outlined  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  forest  growing  is  not  more  than 
ordinarily  inviting  and  involves  considerable  risk  and  capital.  Yet 
it  assumed  only  a  fair  annual  tax  on  the  land.  Under  our  present 
system,  logically  carried  out,  here  is  what  would  happen: 

The  first  year  the  tax  would  be  the  same.  The  second  year  a 
fiftieth  of  the  total  fifty-year  crop,  which  we  have  assumed  worth 
about  $140,  or  $2.80,  would  be  added  to  the  land;  therefore  not  $3, 
but  $5.80,  will  bear  the  30-mill  levy,  and  not  9  cents,  but  17  cents, 
actual  tax  will  be  paid.  The  third  year  the  tax  will  be  25  cents  an 
acre;  at  the  twenty-fifth  year  it  will  be  over  $2  an  acre.  We  have 
seen  that  even  a  9-cent  tax  amounted  to  an  investment  of  over  $26 
an  acre  in  order  to  produce  the  crop.  The  continual  increase  of 
this  according  to  growth  would  make  the  investment  run  into  many 
hundreds  of  dollars  if  the  same  interest  is  calculated,  and  in  any 
case  would  make  reforestation  financially  impossible. 

In  actual  practice,  the  increased  valuation  would  probably  not  be 
made  by  the  assessor  in  the  manner  just  described.  Instead  of  deter- 
mining the  rate  of  growth  scientifically  and  applying  it  annually,  he 
now  makes  an  ocular  reappraisement  at  considerable  intervals.  In 
most  cases  there  is  no  increased  value,  for  the  land  does  not  reforest 
but  is  continually  reburncd.  Where  it  accidentally  docs  reforest,  he 
makes  a  rough  calculation  of  the  value  of  the  second  growth,  based 
upon  no  particular  system  and  seldom  alike  in  different  counties. 
But  the  principle  remains  the  same  and  the  result  differs  only  in 
degree.  With  the  most  lenient  valuation  at  10  or  15-year  intervals, 
the  addition  of  material  which  makes  growing  forests  so  different 
from  our  stationary  mature  forests  of  today  is  bound,  under  our 
present  system,  to  have  confiscatory  effect.  The  land  owner,  so  far 
from   being  encouraged   to   establish   and   protect   a    new   forest,   is 


116  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY  IN 

actually  penalized,  for  he  must  assume  that  its  expectation  value  will 
be  taxed  annually,  perhaps  on  an  exorbitant  basis,  as  soon  as  it 
becomes  apparent. 

If  only  the  value  added  each  year,  $2.80  in  our  illustration,  were 
taxed  annually,  there  would  be  no  injustice.  The  tax  would  then,  in 
the  case  cited,  be  9  cents  1he  first  year  and  17  cents  every  year  there- 
after. But  this  cannot  be  calculated  with  sufficient  accuracy  upon 
our  present  knowledge  of  forest  growth  and  under  conditions  varying 
with  every  trace  or  acre.  Our  example,  with  its  several  arbitrary 
factors  of  growth,  tax  rate,  interest  rate,  and  future  stumpage  price, 
was  merely  for  the  purpose  of  illustration.  Furthermore,  such  a 
solution  would  still  be  illegal  under  our  present  laws. 

Requirements  Eefokm  Must  Meet 

These  facts  are  recognized  by  all  students  of  forestry  and  taxation. 
In  all  countries  where  forests  are  grown  the  general  property  tax  has 
been  abandoned.  Disinterested  authorities  of  every  class,  approach- 
ing the  subject  only  from  the  public's  point  of  view  and  holding  no 
brief  for  the  timberland  owner,  unite  in  saying  emphatically  that 
its  application  to  growing  forests  will  retard  or  prevent  forestry  in 
our  country.  These  authorities  include  statesmen  like  Roosevelt  and 
our  most  prominent  governors  and  senators ;  expert  authorities  on 
taxation  generally,  like  state,  national,  and  international  tax  confer- 
ences and  professors  of  economics  in  the  leading  universities;  forestry 
authorities  like  Graves,  Pinchot  and  State  foresters;  and  all  the  many 
associations  and  congresses  devoted  to  such  subjects. 

These  authorities  all  agree  that  the  forest  crop  should  not  be  taxed 
till  harvested,  but  differ  somewhat  as  to  the  degree  to  which  tho 
public  need  of  reforestation  warrants  deferring  part  or  all  of  the 
land  tax  also.  This  Association,  after  careful  study  of  the  subject, 
including  European  methods,  the  experiments  made  by  several  of  our 
States,  and  the  plans  proposed  by  many  others,  believes  the  follow- 
ing objects  should  be  sought: 

1.  Greater  permanent  revenue  to  state  and  country  than  is  possible 
under  the  present  system  of  destroying  the  taxable  source. 

2.  Sustention  of  present  revenue  to  the  highest  degree  compatible 
with  permanence. 

3.  Assurance  that  the  owner  will  do  his  fair  part  to  make  the  land 
productive. 

4.  Assurance  to  the  owner  in  return  that  future  action  by  the 
community  will  not  confiscate  all  profit  resulting  from  his  effort. 

5.  Division  of  risk,  so  both  owner  and  community  will  seek  highest 
production  and  safety  from  fire. 

6.  Demonstrable  justice  to  all  concerned,  rather  than  subsidy  which, 


THE   PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  117 

while  doubtless  warrantable  to  secure  the  public  good,  affords  less 
precise  basis  of  legislation  at  the  present  time. 
7.     Simplicity  in  adoption  and  operation. 

A  Suggested  Solution 

These  requirements  can  be  met  by  legislation,  following  constitu- 
tional amendment  where  necessary,  providing  that  where  the  owner 
of  cut  or  burned-over  land  will  contract  with  the  State  to  insure 
reforestation  and  protection  for  a  specified  term  of  years,  the  State 
shall  notify  the  county  assessor  that  the  land  is  separated  for  taxa- 
tion purposes  from  any  forest  growth  thereon.  The  land  may  continue 
to  pay  a  fair  dependable  tax,  but  the  crop  shall  not  be  taxed  until 
harvested.  To  the  end  that  cutting  of  standing  timber  shall  be  con- 
ducted so  as  to  place  the  land  in  the  best  condition  for  reforesting, 
uncut  forest  land  should  be  subject  to  examination  and  similar  con- 
tract, and  the  separate  classification  for  taxation  should  take  effect 
within  a  year  after  the  timber  is  removed  in  compliance  with  the 
contract. 

This  would  mean  that  when  the  owner  of  deforested  land  chiefly 
valuable  to  the  community  for  forest  production  agrees  to  make  it 
produce,  he  shall  be  taxed  not  on  his  effort  but  upon  the  results  of 
his  effort,  and  then  exactly  as  other  producers  are  taxed  upon  their 
results.  He  may  pay  tax  upon  his  land,  as  other  land  owners  do, 
upon  its  actual  value,  but  without  this  value  being  enhanced  for 
taxation  purposes  by  reason  of  any  crop  thereon. 

Comparison  With  Present  System  in  Eesults 

The  community  would  get  no  less  tax  revenue,  but  presumably 
more,  than  it  does  under  the  present  system.  In  either  case  the 
owner  will  really  pay  annually  only  upon  the  land  value,  not  upon  the 
growth;  the  only  difference  being  that  under  the  proposed  system  he 
would  not  be  asked  to,  while  under  the  present  system  either  there 
will  be  no  growth  to  tax,  or,  if  there  is,  he  cannot  afford  to  pay  and 
the  land  will  revert.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  while  cut-over 
land  is  actually  being  held  under  the  present  system,  it  has  seldom 
grown  anything  yet.  No  expense  has  been  incurred  to  establish  a 
crop,  accidental  growth  is  almost  always  destroyed  by  fire  because  it 
does  not  pay  to  protect  it,  and  if  it  is  not  so  destroyed  it  has  not  jet 
been  accorded  the  expectation  value  which  the  assessor  will  be  obliged 
to  recognize  in  the  early  future  if  he  really  observes  the  present  law. 
The  inevitable  tendency  of  the  present  system  is  continuance  to  pay 
on  the  land  with  speculative '  value  for  purposes  other  than  forestry 
but  abandonment  of  land  valuable  only  for  forestry,  with  destruction 
of  the  forest  growth  in  either  case,  by  purpose  or  negligence,  because 


118  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY  IN 

it  means  added  cost  of  holding  with  no  possibility  of  profit.  Since 
the  owner  cannot  be  compelled  to  grow  timber  to  be  taxed  at  his  net 
loss,  no  timber  tax  at  all  will  be  received  by  the  community  and  its 
annual  land  tax  will  be  confined  to  land  worth  holding  without  timber 
for  purposes  other  than  timber  growing.  Under  the  proposed  system, 
the  latter  class  would  pay  the  same  annual  tax,  the  annual  tax  revenue 
from  strictly  forest  land  would  be  greater,  and  in  addition  to  both 
would  be  the  future  yield  tax  upon  the  crop. 

An  Objection  Met 

A  possible  superficial  criticism  may  be  that,  leaving  the  land  out  of 
consideration,  the  proposed  yield  tax  at  a  personal  property  valuation 
of  the  crop  means  that  but  one  year's  tax  is  to  be  paid  upon  the 
timber.  The  fallacy  of  this,  however,  will  be  seen  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  it  is  a  crop,  having  been  produced  from  nothing  by  the 
owner,  since  his  acquisition  of  the  land  and  while  he  was  paying 
taxes  upon  his  land  upon  its  value  for  productive  purposes  throughout 
the  entire  period  just  as  any  other  crop  grower  does.  It  is  not 
unearned  speculative  increment.  To  tax  it  annually  is  exactly 
equivalent  to  taxing  an  agricultural  crop  50  times  during  its  growing 
period.  The  proposed  plan  does  tax  the  annual  production  fully, 
although  not  until  the  crop  is  produced,  for  taxing  its  full  value 
when  grown  is  the  same  as  taxing  each  year  the  increment  added 
since  the  preceding  year.  If  it  is  worth  $150  an  acre,  after  50  years 
from  seed,  a  3  per  cent  yield  tax  would  be  $4.50.  Each  year  since  the 
first  must  have  produced  a  fiftieth  of  the  ultimate  value,  or  $3,  and 
had  this  been  taxed  at  3  per  cent,  or  9  cents,  the  same  aggregate 
revenue  of  $4.50  would  have  resulted.  To  also  tax  annually  the 
value  of  proceding  years'  production,  like  taxing  a  wheat  crop  twice 
a  week,  is  exactly  the  confiscatory  prohibition  of  forest  growing 
which  we  should  seek  to  a^oid. 

When  the  essential  difference  of  the  two  systems  is  grasped — that 
the  crop  is  distinct  from  the  land  and  the  latter  is  still  fully  taxed — 
it  will  be  seen  that  but  one  tax  upon  the  crop,  at  the  rate  other 
property  pays,  is  all  that  is  just  and  all  that  can  possibly  be  paid  in 
a  competitive  commercial  business.  The  case  is  not  analogous  with 
our  present  system  of  taxing  mature  timber,  in  which  land  and  timber 
together  are  assumed  to  constitute  inseparable  realty,  stationary  in 
production  and  increasing  only  speculatively  in  value,  therefore  the 
comparison  with  one  year's  taxation  under  our  present  system  has 
no  weight. 

From  the  Owner's  Standpoint' 

Nor  does  the  proposed  system  by  any  means  either  subsidize  the 
forest  grower  or  assure  him  a  profit.     It  merely  puts  on  a  basis 


THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  119 

similar  to  that  of  other  enterprises  a  business  more  greatly  handi- 
capped by  long-deferred  returns,  risk  of  loss,  uncertainty  of  future 
prices,  and  continued  current  expense  -without  current  revenue.  Only 
escape  from  fire  and  high  future  stumpage  prices  will  permit  profit 
at  best.  Otherwise,  since  the  tax  is  definite  and  not  upon  income,  the 
forest  grower  will  pay  the  community  for  the  honor  of  providing  it  a 
resource  at  his  own  expense. 

It  is  believed,  however,  that  a  more  fortunate  outcome  is  sufficiently 
promised  in  this  region  of  rapid  growth  if  we  remove  the  single  fatul 
handicap  of  uncertain  confiscatory  taxation. 


VIEWS  OF  EXPERT  AUTHORITIES 

Theodore  Roosevelt:  Second  only  in  importance  to  good  fire 
laws  well  enforced  is  the  enactment  of  tax  laws  which  will  permit  the 
perpetuation  of  existing  forests  by  use. 

Gifford  Pinchot:  Land  bearing  forests  should  be  taxed  annually 
on  the  land  value  alone,  and  the  timber  crop  should  be  taxed  when 
cut,  so  private  forestry  may  be  encouraged. 

North  American  Conservation  Conference,  Washington,  D.  C. : 
Believing  that  excessive  taxation  on  standing  timber  privately  owned 
is  a  potent  cause  of  forest  destruction  by  increasing  the  cost  of 
maintaining  growing  forests,  we  agree  in  the  wisdom  and  justice  of 
separating  the  taxation  of  timber  land  from  the  taxation  of  timber 
growing  upon  it,  and  adjusting  both  in  such  manner  as  to  encourage 
forest  conservation  and  forest  growing. 

The  private  owners  of  land  unsuited  to  agriculture,  once  forested 
and  now  impoverished  or  denuded,  should  be  encouraged  by  practical 
instruction,  adjustment  of  taxation,  and  in  other  proper  ways,  to 
undertake  the  reforesting  thereof. 

Gifford  Pinchot, 
Robkrt  Bacon, 
James  R.  Garfield, 
Commissioners  representing  the  United  States. 
Sydney  Fisher, 
Clifford  Sifton, 
Henri  S.  Boland, 
Commissioners  representing  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 
Romulu  Escobar, 
Miguel  A.  De  Quevedo, 
Carlos  Sellerier, 
Commissioners  representing  the  Republic  of  Mexico. 
E.  H.  Outerbridge, 
Commissioner  representing  the  Colony  of  Newfoundland. 


120  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY  IN 

Feed.  R.  Fairchild,  Professor  of  Economics,  Yule  University, 
member  International  Tax  Conference:  Probably  nothing  more 
effectually  discourages  investment  than  uncertainty  as  to  future  costs. 
And  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  present  system  of  taxation,  there 
can  be  no  question  of  its  arbitrariness  and  uncertainty.  If  to  all  the 
other  risks  of  forestry  we  add  uncertainty  os  to  what  the  taxes  are 
going  to  be,  we  cannot  blame  investors  for  some  hesitation  in  embark- 
ing on  an  enterprise  which  may  have  to  pay  taxes  fifty  years  before 
the  returns  come  in.  And  more  than  this;  the  investor  cannot  safely 
base  his  calculations  on  the  continuance  of  tho  present  lenient  adminis- 
tration of  the  property  tax.  As  has  been  shown,  the  tendency  today 
is  toward  a  stricter  enforcement  of  the  law  and  a  heavier  burden  of 
taxation. 

State  constitutions  stand  today  in  the  way  of  many  plans  for 
reform  in  State  and  local  taxation.  The  movement  toward  their 
amendment  is  growing  ;is  part  of  the  general  programme  of  tax 
reform. 

The  real  problem  of  forest  taxation  is  in  connection  with  the  future 
of  our  timber  lands  rather  than  with  their  past.  The  preservation 
of  the  forests  is  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance.  So  far  our 
forests  have  been  exploited  with  little  or  no  regard  for  the  future. 
But  the  present  methods  cannot  last  much  longer.  Forestry  must 
come  some  time,  and  its  early  coining  is  a  thing  greatly  to  be  desired. 
And  whenever  we  are  ready  to  seriously  undertake  it  we  will  find  our 
present  methods  of  taxation  a  severe  handicap.  Strictly  enforced, 
according  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  the  annual  tax  on  the  full  value 
of  the  land  and  standing  timber  is  almost  sure  to  result  in  excessive 
taxation,  and  the  timber  owner  cannot  count  on  the  continuance  of 
the  present  lenient  enforcement  of  the  law.  Even  if  the  tax  might 
not  be  excessive,  its  uncertainty  would  be  a  serious  obstacle  to  invest- 
ment. We  can  hardly  hope  to  see  the  general  practice  of  forestry  as 
long  as  the  present  methods  of  taxation  continue. 

To  be  equitable,  taxation  of  timber  lands  like  taxation  of  anything 
else  should  be  based  on  income  or  earning  power. 

With  regard  to  its  effect  on  revenue,  there  is  little  to  be  feared 
from  the  tax  on  yield.  Eventually,  revenue  will  be  increased  by  a 
method  o^f  taxation  which  does  not  prevent  the  development  of 
forestry.  Forests  paying  a  moderate  tax  are  better  than  waste  lands 
abandoned  and  paying  no  tax  at  all. 

The  tax  on  yield  has  many  decided  advantages.  It  avoids  the  evils 
of  the  general  property  tax.  It  is  equitable  and  certain.  It  is  in 
harmony  with  the  peculiarities  of  the  business  of  forestry,  and  will 
be  a  distinct  encouragement  to  the  practice  of  forestry.  Its  adoption 
by  the  States  would  remove  one  obstacle  to  the  perpetuation  of  the 
nation's  forest  resources. 


THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  121 

National  Conservation  Commission,  appointed  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States:  It  is  far  better  that  forest  land  should  pay  a 
moderate  tax  permanently  than  that  it  should  pay  an  excessive  revenue 
temporarily  and  then  cease  to  pay  at  all. 

We  tax  our  forests  under  the  general  property  tax,  a  method  of 
taxation  abandoned  long  ago  by  every  other  great  nation.  In  some 
regions  of  great  importance  for  timber  supply,  and  in  individual  cases 
in  all  regions,  the  taxation  of  forest  lands  has  been  excessive  and 
has  led  to  waste  by  forcing  the  destructive  logging  of  mature  forests, 
as  well  as  through  the  abandonment  of  cut-over  lands  for  taxes.  That 
this  has  not  been  even  more  general  is  due  to  under-assessment,  to  lax 
administration  of  the  law,  but  to  no  virtue  in  the  law  itself.  Already 
taxes  upon  forest  lands  are  being  increased  by  the  strict  enforcement 
of  the  tax  laws.  Even  where  this  has  not  yet  been  done,  the  fear  that 
it  will  be  done  is  a  bar  to  the  practice  of  forestry. 

We  should  so  adjust  taxation  that  cut-over  lands  can  be  held  for  a 
second  crop.  We  should  recognize  that  it  costs  to  grow  timber  as  well 
as  to  log  and  saw  it. 

From  now  on  the  relation  of  taxation  to  the  permanent  usefulness 
of  the  forest  will  be  vital.  Present  tax  laws  prevent  reforestation  on 
cut-over  lands  and  the  perpetuation  of  existing  forests  by  use. 

United  States  Forest  Service:  It  is  evident  that  the  old  method 
of  taxing  forest  property,  as  well  as  other  property,  at  its  supposedly 
full  value  will,  as  the  value  of  timber  increases  and  is  recognized, 
put  a  premium  on  premature  and  reckless  cutting,  and  will  hinder 
any  effort  to  reforest  cut-over  lands.  No  business  man  will  engage 
in  an  undertaking  where  the  returns  are  so  long  deferred  and  the  risks 
are  uninsurable  unless  he  can  estimate  the  probable  expenses  and  a 
reasonably  large  profit.  That  the  forests  themselves,  irrespective  of 
their  ability  to  stand  taxation,  are  of  great  value  to  the  communities 
in  which  they  are  located,  for  water  protection,  lumber  supply,  and 
scenery  in  resort  regions  is  undoubted. 

The  fundamental  difficulty  is  that  the  tax  should  be  in  proportion 
to  yield  or  income  and  not  in  proportion  to  the  market  value  of  the 
land  and  standing  timber.  Economists  are  substantially  agreed  that 
this  principle  is  applicable  to  the  taxation  of  all  kinds  of  property 
with  certain  exceptions.  Where  there  is  a  reasonably  certain  annual 
yield  or  income  the  market  value  is  theoretically  dependent  upon  it. 
A  woodlot  or  forest,  however,  usually  in  this  country  has  no  annual 
yield.  It  is  unjust  to  require  the  owner  to  carry  the  full  annual 
burden  of  taxes,  risk  and  protection  in  every  year  for  the  chance  of 
a  yield  once  in  fifty  years,  and  it  is  impossible  for  the  owner  to  do 
it,  for  the  taxes  with  compound  interest  would  confiscate  his  entire 
capital. 


122  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY  IN 

International  Tax  Conference,  held  at  Toronto :  Resolved,  That 
it  is  within  the  legitimate  province  of  tax  laws  to  encourage  the 
growth  of  forests  in  order  to  protect  watersheds  and  insure  a  future 
supply  of  timber;  and  legislation,  or  constitution  amendment  where 
necessary,  is  recommended  for  these  purposes. 

American  Forest  Congress,  "Washington,  D.  C. :  Resolved,  That 
we  earnestly  commend  to  all  state  authorities  .  .  .  reducing  the 
burden  of  taxation  on  lands  held  for  forest  reproduction  in  order  that 
persons  and  corporations  may  be  induced  to  put  in  practice  the  prin- 
ciples of  forest  conservation. 

Pennsylvania  Department  of  Forestry:  Tax  assessors  have 
differing  ideas  of  value  and  their  assessments  vary  widely.  The  only 
remedy  for  the  forest  owner  is  to  appeal  from  the  assessment  to  the 
county  commissioners,  and,  if  here  unsuccessful,  to  the  county  court, 
a  matter  involving  both  time  and  expense  and  frequently  more  costly 
than  the  differences  in  taxes  to  be  gained;  hut  at  the  same  time  the 
fact  is  well  recognized  that  forested  land  is  both  unequally  and 
unfairly  taxed. 

H.  S.  Graves,  Chief  Forester  for  the  United  States:  The  forest 
areas  now  owned  chiefly  by  lumber  companies  will  cease  to  be  devas- 
tated as  soon  as  fires  are  stopped.  They  will  not,  however,  be  handled 
to  any  large  extent  with  a  view  of  future  production  until  the  taxes 
are  placed  on  a  fair  basis. 

Filibert  Roth,  Professor  of  Forestry,  University  of  Michigan, 
State  Fire  Warden  of  Michigan  (speaking  of  frequent  local  attitude 
toward  non-resident  owner)  : 

Though,  in  truth,  these  resident  people  often  make  their  living  from 
the  tax  money  of  the  non-resident,  and  though  the  latter  contributes 
toward  every  rod  of  road  and  every  schoolhouse  built,  and  other 
improvement,  yet  he  is  treated  as  if  he  were  a  wrongdoer,  is  taxed 
unmercifully,  and,  in  addition,  a  trespass  on  his  land  or  forest  is 
excused  and  it  is  almost  impossible  in  many  places  to  get  conviction. 

If  the  State  and  local  people  had  treated  the  owners  of  timber 
honestly  and  had  spent  a  reasonable  part  of  the  taxes  in  giving  the 
protection  which  the  owner  had  a  right  to  expect  under  the  Constitu- 
tion, there  would  still  be  more  than  half  of  our  pinery  lands  covered 
by  forest. 

Forestry  is  no  "sugar  trust  baby,"  as  so  many  are  trying  to  make 
it  out.  Forests  can  pay  taxes  as  well  as  any  other  property.  Forestry 
is  like  any  other  honest  business,  it  cannot  stand  confiscation. 

Suppose  you  have  a  twenty-acre  lot  of  sugar  beets  and  the  assessor 
would  hang  around  until  the  beets  are  ripe  and  then  figure:  "The 
land  is  good;  I  assess  it  at  $75  per  acre,  and  the  crop  is  worth  $75 
more,  so  that  this  property  will  stand  at  $150."  What  would  you 
say?     But  the  assessor  who  assesses  the  timber  as  part  of  the  real 


THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  123 

estate  and  assesses  the  same  crop  of  timber  year  after  year  does 
precisely  this  thing.  He  assesses  land  and  crop  for  the  owner  of  a 
woodlot  and  forest,  while  for  all  other  farmers  he  assesses  only  the 
land. 

Let  the  State  pass  a  few  simple  laws;  provide  for  the  protection 
of  forest  property  as  we  provide  for  other  property ;  prevent  .  con- 
fiscation under  the  guise  of  taxation;  stop  forcing  its  poor  tax  lands 
on  the  market,  and  go  ahead  with  a  good  example  on  its  own  lands, 
and  instead  of  holding  them  in  a  waste  land  condition  protect  them 
and  grow  timber. 

A.  T.  Hadley,  President  Yale  University:  We  have  it  in  our 
power  to  make  intelligent  forestry  by  individuals  more  profitable. 
The  margin  between  busiuess  that  succeeds  and  business  that  fails  is 
a  narrow  one,  and  by  just  covering  that  margin  by  differences  in  tax 
laws,  by  differences  in  protective  laws,  by  laws  for  the  prevention  of 
fires,  we  can  make  profitable  an  industry  which  the  public  needs,  but 
which  today  is  unprofitable. 

James  O.  Davidson,  Governor  of  Wisconsin :  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
laws  will  be  passed  encouraging  owners  to  cut  timber  conservatively 
under  forestry  regulations,  rather  than  oblige  them  to  cut  as  quickly 
as  possible  to  escape  the  injustice  of  taxation. 

Professor  F.  G.  Miller,  University  of  Washington:  Next  to  fire 
the  most  serious  handicap  to  the  progress  of  forestry  is  our  unjust 
method  of  forest  taxation.  Laying  as  we  do  a  yearly  tax  on  both  the 
growing  crop  and  the  land,  the  burden  of  taxation  makes  the  holding 
of  land  for  a  second  crop  prohibitive  as  far  as  the  private  owner  is 
concerned. 

The  farmer  pays  a  yearly  tax  on  his  land,  and  a  tax  on  his  crop 
each  time  he  harvests  one.  This  is  usually  annually.  However,  if 
through  drought,  insect  invasion  or  other  misfortune  he  loses  his 
crop,  he  is  not  called  upon  to  pay  a  tax  upon  it. 

Senator  Eeed  Smoot,  of  Utah,  Chairman  Section  of  Forests, 
National  Conservation  Commission:  One  of  the  urgent  tasks  before 
the  States  is  the  immediate  passage  of  tax  laws  which  will  enable 
the  private  owner  to  protect  and  keep  productive  under  forest  those 
lands  suitable  only  for  forest  growth.  In  our  discussion  in  com- 
mittee meeting  there  was  a  question  raised  by  a  member  present  as 
to  this  recommendation,  claiming  that  it  would  encourage  great 
monopolies  in  securing  larger  holdings  of  timber,  if  an  annual  tax 
was  not  required  on  the  timber  itself.  I  have  studied  this  question 
in  foreign  lands,  particularly  in  Germany  and  Switzerland,  and  I  find 
that  the  result  has  been  exactly  the  opposite.  It  is  a  short-sighted 
policy  which  invites,  through  excessive  taxation,  the  destruction  of 
the   only   crop   which   steep   mountain   lands   will   produce   profitably. 


124  PRACTICAL   FORESTRY   IN 

Taxes  on  forest  land  should  be  levied  on  the  crop  when  cut,  not  on 
the  basis  of  a  general  property  tax — that  unsound  method  of  taxa- 
tion long  abandoned  by  every  other  great  nation. 

Governor  Newton  C.  Blanchard,  of  Louisiana:  Under  the  pres- 
ent tax  laws  of  many  of  the  States  large  assessments  are  put  on 
timber  lands,  and  this  is  forcing  timber  holders — the  owners  of  the 
sawmills — to  cut  off  that  timber  too  rapidly.  At  least  it  is  having 
much  effect  that  way.  Give  them  the  encouragement  to  hold  back 
and  not  force  their  product  upon  the  markets,  and  then  exempt,  by 
a  system  of  wise  tax  laws,  cut-over  lands  devoted  to  purposes  of 
reforestation. 

Maryland  State  Board  of  Forestry:  The  present  method  is  to 
assess  woodlands  under  the  general  property  tax,  making  the  assess- 
ment high  where  the  timber  is  valuable  and  placing  it  low  where  the 
timber  has  been  cut  off.  There  is  in  the  operation  of  this  system  a 
tendency  to  cut  off  the  timber  before  it  reaches  maturity  to  avoid 
the  high  rate  of  taxation.  A  premium  is  placed  on  forest  destruction 
and  a  penalty  on  forest  conservation. 

The  growth  of  timber  is  slow  and  under  present  stnmpage  prices 
and  rates  of  taxation  there  are  comparatively  few  cases  where  the 
sale  value  of  the  crop  equals  the  cost  of  grovving  it,  if  a  fair  rental 
for  the  land  is  considered.  It  is  true  that  most  of  the  forests  are 
on  lands  that  could  not  be  used  for  anything  else,  but  it  is  not  fair 
to  expect  the  landowner  to  produce  timber  which  is  a  public  necessity, 
the  use  of  which  is  only  less  universal  than  food  crops,  at  a  financial 
sacrifice.  Increasing  prices  and  better  forest  management  are  reliev- 
ing the  situation  to  some  extent,  but  the  most  effective,  as  well  as 
the  most  equitable  way,  is  through  a  change  or  modification  of  present 
tax  laws. 

Professor  Edwin  E.  A.  Seligman,  Columbia  Uuiversity:  The 
general  property  tax  as  actually  administered  is  beyond  all  doubt  one 
of  the  worst  taxes  known  in  the  civilized  world.  Because  of  its 
attempt  to  tax  intangible  as  well  as  tangible  things,  it  sins  against 
the  cardinal  rules  of  uniformity,  of  equality,  and  of  universality  of 
taxation. 

Professor  Alfred  Akerman,  Georgia  University :  One  reason  why 
it  (the  general  property  tax)  is  so  outrageous  in  practice  is  that  it  is 
wrong  in  theory.  The  mere  possession  of  property  may  or  may  not 
be  an  index  to  the  ability  of  the  owner  to  pay  tax.  It  all  depends 
on  whether  the  property  brings  income. 

Allen  Hollis,  Secretary  Society  for  Protection  of  New  Hampshire 
Forests:  Taxation  today,  in  my  opinion,  is  the  greatest  menace  to 
forest  preservation. 

One  principle  is  absolutely  sound — we  all  know  it,  and  what  we 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  125 

have  to  do  is  to  make  everybody  else  know  it — and  that  is,  that  the 
annual  taxation  on  a  crop  which  is  constantly  increasing  in  value  each 
year  means  confiscation  of  that  property. 

It  is  submitted  here  that  no  single  factor  bears  so  definitely  upon 
the  future  of  our  forests  as  this  constitutional  requirement  of  equality 
in  taxation.  As  a  business  proposition,  no  one  can  afford  to  hold 
woodlands  and  pay  annually  2  per  cent  upon  their  actual  value, 
increased  each  year  by  growth  and  advancing  prices,  during  the  fifty 
to  one  hundred  years  necessary  for  maturing  the  crop. 

Charles  Lathrop  Pack,  Director  American  Forestry  Association: 
While  the  nation  and  the  State  are  working  to  devise  ways  and 
means  of  conserving  our  forest  resources,  we  are  at  the  same  time, 
in  a  real  sense,  taxing  our  timber  to  death. 

Our  present  tax  laws  prevent  reforestation  on  cut-over  lands  and  the 
perpetuation  of  existing  forests  by  proper  use  and  economic  cutting. 

State  of  Michigan  Forestry  Commission  (extracts  from  report 
to  governor)  :  The  system  of  taxation  should  be  modified  so  as  to 
stimulate  timber  production  instead  of  repressing  it. 

There  is  no  logical,  moral  or  political  reason  why  a  crop  of  grow- 
ing trees  should  be  included  in  the  assessment,  in  addition  to  the 
actual  value  of  the  land,  that  does  not  apply  with  equal  force  and 
reason  to  farm  lands  which  are  continuously  cropped  with  grains, 
root  crops  or  hay.  The  uncertainty  of  realizing  upon  a  tree  crop 
is  very  much  like  the  uncertainty  of  a  given  farm's  producing  its 
crop  in  full.  The  only  difference  is  that  the  forest  crop  is  subjected 
to  the  vicissitudes  and  chances  of  a  long  series  of  years,  while  the 
farm  crops  are  subject  only  to  the  vicissitudes  of  about  one  year. 
Many  of  the  crops  are  only  subject  to  the  accidents  of  five  or  six 
months. 

In  the  present  stage  of  forestry  in  this  country,  what  is  most 
imperatively  required  is  such  a  treatment  of  the  subject  of  taxation 
of  forested  lands  as  will  induce  private  owners  to  retain  their  forests 
until  ripe  to  the  harvest  and  to  reforest  denuded  lands.  This  would 
apply  to  those  having  lands  suitable  for  such  purpose,  or  others  who 
might  purchase  lands  suitable  therefor,  who,  under  the  present 
diverse,  and  oftentimes  inequitable,  practice  of  assessments,  cannot 
be  induced  to  make  investments  of  that  character. 

Report  of  Society  for  Protection  of  New  Hampshire  Forests, 
Ex-Governor  Frank  W.  Rollins,  President:  The  law  of  New 
Hampshire  requires  that  all  property  shall  he  taxed  equally,  accord- 
ing to  its  value,  a  law  constantly  and  necessarily  violated  by  assessors 
of  forest  property  throughout  the  State.  Its  strict  application  even 
for  a  short  period  would  go  far  to  rid  the  State  of  its  standing 
timber.     The  reason  for  1his  is  that  timber  is  a  growing  crop — the 


126  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY  IN 

only  crop  taxed  more  than  once,  and  if  taxed  annually  at  its  full 
value  the  cost  to  the  owner  of  holding  the  property  would  be  so 
excessive  as  to  require  its  hasty  disposal.  Assessors  everywhere  feel 
instinctively  the  inherent  injustice  of  taxing  a  growing  crop  at  a 
high  annual  rate,  and  violate  the  law  and  their  oaths  of  office  with 
impunity.  The  result  is  there  are  as  many  systems  of  forest  taxa- 
tion in  the  State  as  there  are  assessors,  and  glaring  inequalities 
exist,  not  only  between  neighboring  towns,  but  also  in  some  instances 
between  different  parts  of  the  same  town. 

The  unequally  high  rate  placed  upon  the  timber  of  non-residents  is 
wholly  iniquitous. 

New  Hampshire  State  Grange,  Committee  on  Agriculture: 
Many  of  the  towns  in  our  State  invite  the  misuse  of  forests  by  over- 
taxation. This  should  be  guarded  against.  By  reasonable  thrift  we 
can  produce  a  constant  wood  and  timber  supply  beyond  our  own 
need,  and  with  it  conserve  the  usefulness  of  our  streams  for  water 
supply,  navigation  and  power,  and  at  the  same  time  increase  the 
value  of  our  farms. 

E.  M.  Griffith,  State  Forester  of  Wisconsin:  The  present  method 
of  taxing  timberlands  is  hostile  to  the  forestry  interests  of  the  State, 
as  a  single  timber  crop  is  taxed  heavily  and  repeatedly,  and  the 
owners  are  forced  by  our  present  laws  to  cut  their  mature  timber  in 
order  to  escape  inequitable  taxation,  to  sacrifice  their  young  growth, 
and  to  disregard  conservative  methods  of  forest  management. 

Taxes  are  unfortunately  a  very  valid  reason  in  many  sections  of 
the  State  for  not  practicing  forestry.  Many  town  assessors  seem 
to  feel  that  they  must  tax  the  timberland  owner,  especially  the  non- 
resident owner,  as  heavily  as  possible,  and  naturally  in  self-defense 
the  owner  is  forced  to  cut  his  timber  and  so  reduce  the  taxes  to  a 
reasonable  amount.  Then,  when  it  is  too  late,  the  towns  find  that 
they  have  ' '  killed  the  goose  that  laid  the  golden  egg. ' '  However, 
the  loss  of  the  taxes  on  the  timber  is  but  a  drop  in  the  bucket  corn- 
pared  to  the  irreparable  damage  to  many  communities  from  losing  the 
industries  which  depended  uupon  the  forests  for  their  raw  material. 
To  appreciate  this  one  only  needs  to  visit  tcwns  in  which  the  saw- 
mills have  shut  down  on  account  of  lack  of  timber. 

Of  late  years  the  end  of  the  timber  has  been  largely  hastened  on 
account  of  the  excessive  taxes  placed  upon  it.  The  whole  system  of 
forest  taxation  in  this  country  is  wrong,  for  it  puts  a  premium  on 
forest  destruction. 

Ralph  C.  Hawley,  Instructor  in  Forestry,  Yale  University:  A 
system  of  taxation  which  discriminates  against  timber,  one  of  the 
chief  natural  resources  of  the  commonwealth,  is  to  be  condemned. 

Kentucky  State  Department  of  Agriculture  Report:     When 


THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  127 

a  rise  in  the  valuation  of  other  than  forest  property  becomes  neces- 
sary because  of  the  greater  development  of  the  resources  of  the 
region,  the  valuation  of  forest  property  should  be  increased  with 
great  caution  in  order  that  the  forest  lands  may  be  held  to  advan- 
tage for  the  production  of  future  timber  crops.  A  timber  crop  is 
marketed  only  after  the  young  growing  timber  has  been  held  for  a 
long  term  of  years,  during  which  time  the  forest  has  been  yielding 
only  a  very  slight  revenue,  if  any,  to  the  owner.  If  the  valuation 
of  the  forest  or  its  rates  of  taxation  goes  beyond  a  comparatively 
low  limit,  the  holding  of  forest  land  for  a  second  crop  of  timber  is 
impracticable  or  nearly  prohibitive.  This  condition  has  prevailed 
in  many  other  States  where  now  the  problem  of  taxation  is  a  difficult 
one  to  solve. 

Alfred  Gaskill,  State  Forester  for  New  Jersey:  The  present 
practices  favor  and  encourage  the  untimely  or  wasteful  use  of  stand- 
ing forests,  discourage  the  propagation  of  others,  and  tend  to  hasten 
the  time  when  the  country  shall  be  forced  to  face  a  wood  famine. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  apply  the  European  system  here  with  any- 
thing like  the  exactness  that  attaches  to  it  in  the  old  countries, 
because  we  have  not  the  means  of  knowing  the  true  worth  of  forest 
soil  or  of  forest  crops,  but  the  principle  is  applicable  anywhere.  Even 
in  the  hands  of  non-expert  assessors  it  gives  a  fairer  basis  of  valua- 
tion* than  our  present  method,  and  in  the  long  run  will  insure  larger 
returns. 

J.  E.  Frost,  Tax  Commissioner  of  Washington:  The  State's  sys- 
tem of  taxation  is  obsolete,  and  only  13  civilized  communities  in  the 
world  have  such  an  out-of-date  system.  The  State  is  confined  by  the 
constitution  to  property  tax,  well  known  as  a  primitive  system,  utterly 
incapable  of  coping  with  modern  business.  It  can  be  remedied  only 
by  recognizing  the  different  classes  of  taxable  property. 

Dr.  Francis  L.  McVey,  University  President  and  Tax  Expert: 
Under  the  old  plan  of  valuing  annually  the  property  it  was  difficult 
to  secure  an  appraisement  that  was  satisfactory  to  anybody  and, 
what  was  more,  as  the  years  went  by  the  local  governments  found 
their  assessed  values  decreasing  and  the  burden  of  government  mate- 
rially increasing  with  the  decline  in  amount  of  standing  timber.  The 
annual  taxation  of  the  land  upon  which  the  timber  stands  meets  this 
difficulty,  while  the  taxation  of  the  product  at  the  time  of  harvesting 
provides  a  plan  that  is  fair  both  to  the  local  government  and  to  the 
owner  of  timber. 

Colorado  Conservation  Commission:  Resolved,  That  it  is  the 
sense  of  the  Colorado  Conservation  Commission  that  the  governor 
and  legislators  should  submit  to  the  people  at  as  early  a  date  as 
possible  an  amendment  to  the  constitution,  exempting  from  taxation 


128  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY   IN 

lands  devoted  solely  to  the  growth  and  culture  of  new  timber,  and 
if  such  amendment  is  adopted,  the  same  to  be  followed  by  suitable 
legislation. 

Oregon  State  Conservation  Commission:  Constitutional  amend- 
ment and  legislation  should  be  invoked  to  permit  a  low  fixed  tax 
on  cut-over  land  during  the  period  of  no  return  to  the  owner,  the 
State  to  be  compensated  bj  a  tax  on  the  crop  when  cut.  Obviously 
this  inducement  should  be  offered  only  to  these  holders  of  cut-over 
land  who  will  reciprocate  by  furthering  the  object  sought.  The 
result  of  such  a  system  would  be  not  only  perpetuation  of  the  forest 
and  its  attendant  industries  and  payroll,  but  also  a  far  greater  tax 
return  than  the  present  one  of  encouraging  potential  forest  land  to 
become  worthless  and  non-taxable. 

Legislature  of  Minnesota  :  ' '  See.  17a.  Laws  may  be  enacted 
exempting  lands  from  taxation  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  and 
promoting  the  planting,  cultivation  and  protection  of  useful  forest 
trees  thereon."  This  is  the  text  of  an  act  amending  the  Minnesota 
constitution  passed  by  the  legislature. 

Washington  Conservation  Association,  Walla,  Walla :  Whereas, 
The  question  of  holding  cut-over  forest  land  for  a  second  crop  is  of 
paramount  importance  to  the  State,  and 

Whereas,  This  is  made  impossible  on  the  part  of  private  owners  by 
our  present  method  of  forest  taxation,  whereby  the  owner  is  obliged 
to  pay  an  annual  tax  on  the  land  as  well  as  an  annually  repeated 
tax  on  the  same  growing  crop,  therefore  be  it 

Besolved,  That  this  convention  favors  such  remedial  legislation  as 
will  encourage  reforestation  of  privately  owned  lands,  and  be  it 
further 

Besolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  convention  that  as  applied 
to  reforestation  such  remedial  legislation  can  be  secured  by  a  plan 
which  will  levy  an  annual  tax  on  the  land  and  an  income  tax  on  the 
forest  crop  only  when  the  crop  is  harvested. 

First  National  Conservation  Congress,  Seattle:  Resolved,  That 
we  urge  the  adoption  of  a  system  of  taxation  under  which  woodlands 
will  pay  a  moderate  annual  land  tax  and  the  timber  will  be  taxed 
only  when  cut. 


THE   PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  129 

THE 

WESTERN   FORESTRY   AND   CONSERVATION 

ASSOCIATION 

The  Western  Forestry  and  Conservation  Association  has  no  indi- 
vidual membership,  but  consists  of  and  represents  all  organized 
agencies  for  forest  protection  in  the  States  of  Montana,  Idaho, 
Washington,  Oregon  and  California.  Following  is  Article  IV  of  its 
constitution: 

"Any  association  formed  for  the  purpose  of  organized  effort  in 
the  protection  of  forests  from  fire  and  for  the  reforestation  and 
conservation  of  the  forest  resources  of  the  States  represented  shall 
be  eligible  for  membership.  Any  organization  admitted  to  member- 
ship shall  be  entitled  to  two  votes  in  the  meetings  of  tb;s  Associa- 
tion. The  chief  forest  officer  of  each  of  the  five  States  embraced, 
and  of  each  district  of  the  United  States  Forest  Service  embraced, 
shall  be  honorary  members. ' ' 

The  allied  organizations  are  at  present  fifteen  in  number:  The 
Oregon  Forest  Fire,  Oregon  Conservation,  North  Willamette  Forest 
Fire,  Coos  County  Fire  Patrol,  Northwest  Oregon  Forest  Fire, 
Klamath  Lake  Counties  Forest  Fire,  Polk-Yamhill  Forest  Fire,  Lin- 
coln-Benton Forest  Fire,  North  Idaho  Forestry,  Washington  Forest 
Fire,  Washington  Conservation,  Inland  Forest  Fire,  Potlatch  Timber 
Protective,  Clearwater  Timber  Protective,  Pend  d 'Oreille  Timber  Pro- 
tective, Coeur  d'Alene  Timber  Protective  and  Northern  Montana 
Forestry  Association. 

The  purpose  of  the  Western  Forestry  &  Conservation  Association 
is  to  promote  forest  fire  prevention,  conservative  forest  management, 
reforesting  of  cut-over  lands  not  more  valuable  for  agriculture, 
improvement  in  taxation  systems,  preservation  of  stream  flow,  and  all 
other  things  comprehended  by  forest  conservation. 

Its  meetings  enable  representatives  of  the  allied  associations  and 
of  State  and  government  to  exchange  ideas  and  devise  ways  and 
means  for  carrying  on  these  movements  in  harmony  along  practical 
and  effective  lines.  It  also  affords  means  of  collecting  and  distribut- 
ing information  from  these  several  sources. 

It  believes  in  the  use  of  every  legitimate  means  of  publicity  and 
education  to  interest  lumbermen,  legislators  and  public,  not  only  in 
paving  the  way  for  future  advance,  but  also  in  such  actual,  work- 
able, conservation  measures  as  can  be  put  into  -practice  immediately. 

To  this  end,  believing  action  speaks  louder  than  words,  it  prac- 
tices what  it  preaches.  While  fully  recognizing  the  great  value  and 
necessity  of  associations  devoted  entirely  to  propaganda,  it  sees  also 


130  PRACTICAL  FORESTRY  IN 

a  need  of  reducing  theory  to  a  sound  business  basis.  Either  as 
associations  or  through  their  members  the  forest  protective  associa- 
tions it  represents  spent  about  $700,000  in  1910  for  patrol  and  fire 
fighting  to  protect  the  forests  of  the  West.  They  safeguarded  mil- 
lions of  acres  of  timber,  put  out  many  thousand  fires,  and  saved 
forest  resources  worth  billions  of  dollars  to  the  community.  As  a 
result  of  their  effort  the  losses  in  Idaho,  Washington  and  Oregon 
were  kept  down  to  about  a  quarter  of  1  per  cent  of  the  privately- 
owned  timber  in  these  States,  and  this  notwithstanding  that  it  was 
one  of  the  worst  fire  years  in  American  history. 

While  they  unite  in  the  Western  Forestry  and  Conservation  Asso- 
ciation, and  levy  a  special  assessment  to  support  its  work,  the  local 
organizations  are  wholly  independent  in  their  actual  forest  fire  work. 
Their  systems  vary  slightly,  but  the  majority  follow  the  general  plan 
outlined  on  pages  100-103  of  this  booklet. 

One  of  the  primary  objects  and  ambitions  of  the  Association  is  to 
extend  this  effort  until  all  the  timber  owners  in  the  five  States  do  their 
part  and  every  acre  of  private  forest  land  is  brought  under  a  highly 
trained  and  organized  service.  If  the  States  themselves  lend  aid 
and  backing  this  can  be  made  the  most  efficient  fire  service  in  exist- 
ence, as  the  most  magnificent  body  of  standing  timber  in  the  world 
deserves. 

The  Association  also  employs  a  trained  forester  to  assist  its  mem- 
bers who  control  timber  to  install  and  maintain  improved  methods 
of  protection,  cutting  and  reforestation.  In  this  way  it  not  only 
helps  those  who  will  to  really  accomplish  the  end  in  view,  but  by 
publishing  such  material  as  is  contained  in  this  booklet  makes  the 
experiments  serve  as  object  lessons  to  others. 

Perhaps  the  most  unique  function  of  the  Association  is  to  furnish 
the  only  common  meeting  ground  and  clearing  house  for  the  many 
public  and  private  agencies  for  forest  protection.  At  its  meetings 
Federal  and  State  officials,  representatives  of  public  conservation 
associations  and  timber  owners  join  on  equal  footing,  without  con- 
troversy over  rights  or  authority,  in  discussing  practical  details  of 
how  to  accomplish  the  best  results  together  under  conditions  as  they 
exist.  Every  man  present  is  there  because  he  wants  to  do  his  part, 
with  his  own  hands  or  money,  to  preserve  the  forests  of  the  West. 
He  knows  what  he  is  talking  about  and  the  others  are  glad  to  hear 
him.  The  result  is  a  mutual  understanding  and  cooperation  along 
practical  lines  which  is  of  immense  benefit  to  the  public  whose  wel- 
fare depends  largely  upon  these  agencies  that  really  control  its  forest 
resources. 


